Call to Power
by Splint
Summary: An ancient power that could spell unimaginable catastrophe is about to be unleashed. To avoid disaster, The Titans go deep into the secrets of the past with help from known and unknown allies. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Teen Titans or any other trademark character. They're all copyrighted properties of Warner Brothers and their respective creators.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere in the cold reaches of the northern edge of the globe.

In a stark wilderness of dead-cold winds and stricken icy grounds, a band of unusually dressed men walked across the frozen tundra on some unknown quest. They were men dressed in think white suits that made them almost invisible in the white backdrop of the Arctic landscape. The parts of their attire that were not white were their gray metal breathers and the tubes that connected to a large metal backpack from which a long pole-like weapon hung from, and bright red goggles that hid their eyes.

Six of these men walked forward in formation, seemingly unaffected by the chilling wind and steadily falling snow. Behind them was rather unusual vehicle to be seen in an Arctic setting, or any setting for that matter. The vehicle was a large crawling truck of some sort, about fifteen meters long and twice as thick as the average city bus. The vehicle ran on a set of regularly spaced thirty-seven inch wheels that ran the length of the beast of a machine.

The front of the large caterpillar-like vehicle was a cockpit which was a large half-globe made out of glass and supporting metal frames. Inside the cockpit, two more of the oddly suited men piloted the vehicle as it continued to trudge slowly across the frozen wasteland.

They whole party was walking for quite a while until they spotted something in the distance. Barely visible in the snow was a rock face about a quarter-mile ahead. The party treaded a little faster but kept a relatively casual pace, not wanting to tire themselves out for they know what their job involved at the time.

They reached the base of the rock face and found what they were looking for: a cave entrance. The party stopped just a few meters outside the opening. The man at the font of the party eyed the cave with mixed wonder and curiosity. The cave was about two stories high and in an almost-perfectly round shape. This suggested to the man that the cave was somehow dug artificially. After about a few seconds, a door at the side of the large roving caterpillar opened up. Another white-suited henchman appeared this time wit a slight alteration in his suit. The suit had twin black stripes that ran vertically down the length of his right side, distinguishing him from the rest.

The rather bland decoration of his suit seemed to mean a lot to the other henchmen as they suddenly stood straight, as if out of respect. The apparent officer of the group waved a hand to signal them to ease up as he walked towards the cave entrance. He took a few steps into the cave itself and took out a small device from his belt. The device was a small scanner of some kind. He pressed a button on the pad and the device turned on with a slight "whirrrr" sound.

He pointed the device into the cave depths and waved it around a bit. After a few minutes of doing this, a message appeared on the LCD screen of the device which only he understood. Though his face was hidden, his gestures suggested he was satisfied with what he read. He waved a hand at his fellow henchmen and motioned them to follow as he himself walked deeper into the cave.

Soon, the entire party disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Outside, hiding behind a bank of snow, a small girl with bright pink hair popped her tiny head out and watched as the party of strangely suited men and the large mechanical caterpillar entered the cavern. The little girl, who was easily recognizable as the honorary Titan, Kole, narrowed her eyes.

A moment later, another head popped out from above Kole's. The head that popped out of the snow back belonged to a large caveman, recognizable as Kole's best friend and trusty partner, Gnarrk. Gnarrk, who had no idea of what was going on due to his lack of knowledge of the modern world, looked inquiringly at Kole and waited for her say in the situation.

Only a short time ago, the strange caravan wandered close enough to Kole and Gnarrk's sphere of detection that they were obliged to take a look. The two residents momentarily abandoned their underground home to investigate, wanting to know if the party was something they should worry about. Through her encounters with Dr. Light and The Brotherhood of Evil, Kole had learned to be wary of strangers that wander into her territory. Eventually the caravan left, apparently having no interest in her, Gnarrk, or their home and have possibly came close to them only because they simply made a wrong turn somewhere.

That should have been enough for them both, but their instincts as honorary Titans convinced them that this wasn't something they could just leave along for to long. The two heroes proceeded to follow the caravan from a safe distance while the caravan got back in the right direction and finally reached their supposed destination a good number of miles away.

"On a scale of one to ten," said Kole, "this definitely is a twelve on the "really strange and unlikely to happen" list."

Gnarrk simply grunted something that closely sounded like his own name (the only thing he is able to say) in apparent agreement, not fully understanding what Kole said but pretty much got the context of it. He then grunted a question which only Kole seemed to ever understand.

Kole turned her head to her partner. "Well we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Gnarrk softly grumbled a statement which Kole easily interpreted.

"Of course we have to. What kind of honorary Teen Titans would we be if we didn't?"

Gnarrk grumbled something in apparent agreement. She had a point.

"C'mon, follow me."

Kole stepped over the snow bank and ran towards the cave entrance, her Cro-Magnon companion following closely.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Inside the cold ice cave.

The party proceeded forward in the surprisingly wide space that was almost obviously dug-out on purpose. The giant metal caterpillar easily passed through the cave while illuminating it with a number of halogen lights attached to its hull. The cave gave a rather ominous shade of blue due to the abundance of frozen water in the interior.

The party moved on, in an apparent search for something. The commanding officer, the one with the stripped uniform, lead the way for them all as he constantly waved the same scanner in front of him. The small instrument in his hand seemed to be leading them to whatever it is they are looking for which was deeper still in the earth. Eventually they reached something totally eye-catching.

Pure rock wall gave way to carved stone walls. Icy floors gave way to paved pathways. Frozen stalactites and stalagmites gave way to tall, ornately decorated pillars of stone and some unknown metals. The cave opened up into a cavern big enough to hold a fully loaded cargo ship five times over. The cavern consisted of a combination of natural rock formations and ruined dwellings, structures, and various other architectures made out of an unknown material, carvings, and some broken statues of unknown deities or political figures.

Overhead was another awesome sight. Embedded in the ceiling of the cavern by some odd looking architecture was a gigantic, round crystal of some sort which, unknown to the people below at the time, took sunlight that was being fed to it by multiple tunnels leading to the surface and are hidden in the mountains above. The giant crystal them simply amplified that light and illuminated an ancient ruined town of untold origins below it.

One of the men in white eyed one of the more complete statues. Immediately he could tell that whatever the creature was, it wasn't what one would call human. But it was _humanoid_. Two arms, two legs, one torso and one head, but some things that were distinctively human were not there. The body was deathly thin for human standards, if the statue did depict the average stature of whatever species it was. Whatever that was growing out of the top of the creature's scalp, long thick ribbons of some sort, was not exactly what can be called hair. The creature's eyes, it's most unusual feature, resembled an insect's. Aside from the eyes, nothing else was obviously present on its face.

The entire caravan kept moving towards the center of the large underground cavern, still following whatever the leader's device was tracking. A few moments later, Kole and Gnarrk appeared at the entrance. The two heroes got a good view of the cavern interior for the first time. Naturally, they were awe-struck.

"Whooooaaaaa…" said Kole.

Gnarrk grunted something to that same respect.

They soon realized that they were standing out in the open and quickly found a rock to hide behind before any of the white-suited men were able to spot them. The watched from behind their hiding place as the men continued deeper into the cavern.

"Okay," said Kole, "this is definitely way too strange. I've never seen this place before. Have you, Gnarrk?"

He shook his head from side to side. It would seem that both of them were completely oblivious to the cavern's existence up until now.

"Then the question now is what those guys here are for. They sure as heck don't look like the average kind of treasure hunters. And… there's something about them that's a little familiar."

Gnarrk grunted in agreement and the two continued to follow the caravan. Meanwhile the caravan had reached the center of the cavern.

In the center was what looked like to be a rather large courtyard once upon a time. All that was left of the courtyard were the tiles different colored tiles comprising its floor. If one were to look from aove the different colored tiles on the ground would have formed the image of a winged figure being either worshiped or repulsed by a population below it. This didn't concern the men however.

The leader waved around his little device until it started beeping a new sound. This happened when he was standing right next to a seemingly bottomless hole right in front of him. The hole was about six meters in diameter and seemed to go down to extreme depths. The leader nodded his head approvingly, knowing that they finally found their target.

The leader signaled to the cockpit of the large metal caterpillar. The pilot nodded and engaged in a quick conversation with his co-pilot. They began operating a series of switches and controls inside the cockpit. Outside the other's watched as out of the roof of the large vehicle, a long mechanical crane arm started to lift itself at an angle from near the front of the vehicle.

The crane arm revolved itself and started to extend so that its tip was directly over the hole in the center of the courtyard. At the same time, the door on the side of the caterpillar opened up and more men came out only these men were dressed a little differently. There were a total of three men who came out of the caterpillar door who were all dressed in black, form-fitting suits making them look a lot slimmer than their counterparts. Their mask were of the same material but were more reminiscent of gas mask with a large disk in the moth area. They also had similar metal backpacks and harnesses.

The three thinner men moved to the edge of the hole as the crane arm's tip started feeding out a leangth of cable with a hook on the end. One of the white-suited approached the black-suited men another length of cable that was rolled up in a loop and one of the black-suited men hung it over his shoulder. As the crane continued to lower the cable, the three black-suited men, one by one, started jumping over the hole and grabbing onto the cable. Slowly, they all disappeared into the darkness of the pit.

On a nearby ancient balcony, peering over the solid guard rail, Kole and Gnarrk watched as all this took place. "This is getting shadier and shadier by the minute," said Kole.

Her Cro-Magnon partner grunted in agreement.

"What are those guys up to? And why do they seem so familiar…?"

After a brief moment of reflection, Gnarrk turned to Kole and gave out a series of grunts as if he was trying to say something. Kole looked at him inquisitively as she deciphered his speech. Her eyes grew wide suddenly in realization as she realized Gnarrk was right. Kole let her memory reply a few events she experienced in recent history.

"Of course!" she exclaimed softly, "During the time when we raided the secrete lair of the Brotherhood of Evil. Those guys were the henchmen of that whacked-out scientist who gave the brain that freezing device he used on the other Titans. What was his name? Professor Chang?"

An agreeing grunt came from Gnarrk. He himself had clear enough memories of that night to remember the almost ancient-looking professor who temporarily served under the Brain and his little organization of villains known as the Brotherhood of Evil.

The two heroes continued to watch as the crane stopped feeding the cable. After a few moments, the cable was now being reeled up back into the crane arm. Kole and Gnarrk, as well as the rest of the white-suited henchmen, watched with anticipation what was to come out of the hole. After a few more moments of waiting, the first of the black-suited men emerged from the hole, still hanging off the cable. The second and third of them soon followed.

Kole and Gnarrk thought that this was a bit unusual until they noticed that the crane still had some more cable to reel in. A moment later, something else emerged from the pit. Tied to the end of the crane with the extra length of cable was something that looked like a large, black, perfectly spherical piece of rock. The three black-suited men hopped off the cable and stood by on the side while the leader of the group stepped forward with his little device once again.

He scanned the rather odd-looking but otherwise unassuming rock. The device beeped constantly trying to discern anything of interest form the thing. After a while it stopped beeping and displayed a message on its LCD screen that only the leader of the group could decipher. A minute of analysis passed and he looked up to his comrades and gave an affirmative thumbs-up. The rest of the men nodded approvingly to their leader and then to each other in silent congratulations. Mission accomplished, it would seem.

Meanwhile, two honorary Titans were pretty much still lost. Kole and Gnarrk had just witnessed the large rock emerge from the pit in the middle of an underground cavern, that contained the ruined reminiscence of some ancient architecture, by some white and black-suited men then scanned by a strange device for whatever properties then found to be satisfactory to whatever their needs would be. Anyone who listened to that statement for the first time would never be able to point out a single part that made sense.

"What is that thing?" asked Kole to no-one in particular, not even her partner, Gnarrk, since she knew that he was probably as lost as she was.

Gnarrk leaned in closer to try and get a better look at the rock that the men dug up. In the process of doing so, Gnarrk's fingers accidentally pushed a small pebble sitting on top of the balcony's solid guard rail. The pebble fell off the balcony down about twenty feet right onto a large piece of a broken wall made out of some unknown ancient metal. The pebble hit the broke piece of wall and in turn resounded a loud gong sound that echoed through out the cavern.

Naturally every single person in the cavern turned their attention to the sound. The henchmen looked to where the sound came from and soon noticed the two heroes peeking over a balcony and looking down at them.

Kole noticed that she and her partner were no spotted and a drop of sweat ran down the side of her head as she grinned nervously. Gnarrk, realizing his minor blunder, softly uttered something that would be his personal equivalent to the term "oops."

"Uh…" said Kole, "…hi…?"

There was a brief, awkward silence that enveloped the space.

Suddenly, all of the white-suited henchmen quickly reached behind to their backpacks and retrieved their weapons. Half the men, including the leader, carried taser rod which shot red bolts of electricity while the other half of the men carried cement hoses which spewed super quick-drying, red-colored, cement like substance.

Kole and Gnarrk naturally dove backwards to avoid the barrage of unusual projectiles and fell flat on their faces as the font par of the balcony was completely demolished. They quickly got up and started running deep into the ancient town. The men below stopped firing and looked towards their commanding officer. He gave a series of signals towards his men and their corresponding orders.

The men with the cement hoses proceeded to load the rock they found onto the large caterpillar. The black-suited men ran up the ledge where the two were first seen and gave chase. The leader called onto his other men holding the taser rods to follow him as he lead them in a separate direction hopping to cut off the two Titans from escape.

In his mind, the leader had already decided that he would not let those two live past this day.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Deep into the ruins.

Kole and Gnarrk ran for a short while before finding a small abandoned house, shaped like a small dome. Inside, it was a lot roomier than it looked from the outside with two floors of space. The first floor was bare floor with remnants of ancient furniture of unusual design littering the space while the second floor was just a wide ring that was attached to the wall with a small staircase at one side so the house was just one large room. Hanging from the highest part of the dome ceiling was something that looked like a lamp of some kind.

The two heroes stood in the middle of the first floor, panting for breath. Kole found what was once a stool and took a seat so that she could recover. Gnarrk stood vigilant and carefully watched the door from which they entered. There were no other visible doors or even windows and thus if any danger was coming it would be coming from the one entrance into the dwelling.

"I think," said Kole in between deep breaths, "we lost them."

Gnarrk looked back at her and grunted something that told her to be ready then turned his attention bac to the door. Kole understood and got back up to her feet and moved towards her partner. Half-way to Gnarrk, Kole noticed something on the edge of her sight and looked up. What she saw prompted her to go bug-eyed and yelp in surprise.

Gnarrk heard and looked back at Kole just as three black-suited henchmen leapt off from the upper floor and landed in-between the two Titans. Two faced Gnarrk while the third faced Kole. Gnarrk stood ready letting out a low growl while Kole was nervously backing away but kept her guard up as best she could.

The three men reached behind them into their back packs. They each pulled out a black cylindrical object that was roughly a foot long and as thick as a handle on a bicycle. Simultaneously, they each flicked the object with their wrist and an extra two feet of metal that was of a more silvery color, extended from the black cylinder. The extra silvery length then started to menacingly generate red sparks of electricity. They were wielding taser sticks.

The two heroes only got more nervous. Without warning, the three black-suited henchmen charged at their targets, two towards Gnarrk and one towards Kole.

Kole was forced to momentarily turn tail and run as the henchman chased after her with a red-sparking taser stick. Kole managed to evade the close-call strike of her chaser while doing her best to widen the gap between them by jumping over old furniture and tipping stuff over. Her chaser, however, was far from deterred.

Kole suddenly dove under what resembled a coffee table in modern terms and was about the same dimensions. Kole's small body easily slid below the table and prompted the black-suited henchman to stop as he was unable to follow her. Just before sliding all the way through the other side, Kole stopped and turned on her back while still under the table. She propped her legs up and placed her feet on the table's underside. She then kicked up the table with all the strength she can muster.

The coffee table unexpectedly flew up at an angle towards the henchman's face. The henchman was then caught off-guard and the table effectively pushed him back and collapsed on top of him as he was floored by the thing's weight. Kole got up and stood victoriously for a moment.

"Yeah!" she cheered, "That'll teach you to mess with--"

She soon found-out that the black-suited henchman was more resilient than she gave him credit for. The table was soon pushed off and the man stood straight once again and held his taser stick at ready. Kole was frozen in place. The henchman charged at her, stick swinging wide. Kole reacted by assuming a defensive position, crossing both arm in front of her head to block, and turning her entire body into crystal in an instant.

The henchman's taser stick struck at Kole's indestructible crystal body and recoiled violently causing the man to loose his balance. Kole instantly returned to her organic body and capitalized on the moment to charge in and knock the henchman over with a hard shove. The henchman fell flat on his back and momentarily lost his weapon. Kole ran past him towards the staircase that led to the upper floor. The henchman eventually got up to his feet again, retrieved his taser stick, and continued to pursue her.

Meanwhile, Gnarrk was having problems of his own. The two black-suited henchmen he was facing against were no pushovers, that was for sure at that moment. Gnarrk, with his highly developed physical prowess, was able to withstand the repeated beatings of the taser sticks which to Gnarrk were only minor stings even though they could easily stun a normal person instantly. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand them for long.

Plus, he knew that Kole was in trouble and he needed to get himself out of his current predicament in order to save her. He looked around for any weapon he could use. He saw a ling pole-like thing on the ground that might have been a piece of decoration back in ancient times.

Gnarrk grabbed it and held it at ready as the two henchmen charged at him simultaneously. Held the pole horizontally and blocked both of the taser sticks that came swinging down. Fortunately for Gnarrk, the pole was some kind of ceramic and did not conduct any of the sticks' electricity. He pushed off the two sticks and forced the two henchmen to stumble back. Gnarrk then charged forward with the pole still held horizontally.

Gnarrk nailed one of the henchmen on the chin with his pole as he charged and knocked him down. The other was lucky enough to be able to duck and the pole missed him as Gnarrk passed by. The still-standing henchman capitalized on the opportunity and leapt up onto the caveman's back and put Gnarrk in a choke hold.

Gnarrk, noticing the extra added weight on his person, dropped the pole and did his best to shake off the henchman that was latching on to him by thrashing around violently, bumping into stuff all the way. Gnarrk also grabbed onto the henchman's arms which were around his neck and tried to pry them open but the henchmen proved very resilient indeed. Gnarrk was effectively distracted by this and couldn't see the other henchman recovering.

The second henchman was now back up on his feet. He noticed the struggling Cro-Magnon and waited for an opportunity to capitalize on. Eventually, Gnarrk was able to pry open the hands of the henchman and promptly tossed the black-suited henchman overhead and away from him.

The other henchman took this opportunity by charging in and swinging his taser stick straight up into Gnarrk's chin. The uppercut caught Gnarrk completely off-guard and the caveman fell on his back unceremoniously. The henchman came at him again while he was down. Gnarrk saw it coming that time and rolled to the side as the taser stick struck bare floor. Gnarrk jumped back up to his feet in a ready stance.

Both men were now facing Gnarrk once again and Gnarrk simply grumbled something in apparent frustration. Both men charged at him again with taser sticks held high. Gnarrk reeled up and waited for the opportune moment. When the two henchmen were only a few feet away, Gnarrk used his powerful legs to leapt high into the air and over the two henchmen.

Gnarrk landed a good distance away fro the two and grabbed the nearest thing he could find: a broken old chair of some sort. He held it high over his head and threw it towards his two adversaries in the distance. The two henchmen had enough time to avoid the airborne piece of furniture by jumping on either side of its flight pat. The chair crashed on the floor and smashed into splinters and a cloud of dust.

Gnarrk waited for a moment as the dust cleared to see of the result of his attack. He was disappointed when the two henchmen were still standing and holding their weapons at ready. He grunted in exasperation and made himself ready for another attack.

While all that occurred, Kole was still trying her best to lose her pursuer up on the second floor. Her pursuer was keeping pace with her as she ran circles around the upper floor, constantly dropping or pushing random stuff in the way of the henchmen in attempts to slow him down, which was not very effective.

After a couple of laps around the upper floor she pretty much knew she needed to find another option. While running around, Kole managed to get a glance at Gnarrk's situation down below. Her partner seemed to have trouble getting rid of the two who were then approaching him menacingly. Kole got a bright idea.

"Gnarrk!" she called out to him.

Gnarrk looked to where she called from and noticed Kole suddenly jumping over the rail and off of the second floor. She immediately crossed her arms in front of her chest and kept her body as straight as she can as her entire body crystallized in mid-air. Gnarrk got the idea pretty quick. He reached out a hand and grabbed Kole's crystal body by the legs. At the same time, one of the two henchmen charged headlong at them both.

Gnarrk saw it coming and swung at the guard using Kole's body much like a club. The caveman nailed the henchman in the side of his stomach and sent him flying towards the wall. The second henchman charged in after seeing his comrade fall and hoped to have caught the big man off-guard. Gnarrk was quicker than that and was able to block the second henchman's swing with the taser stick easily using Kole. Gnarrk quickly released one hand's grasp of Kole and promptly gave an uppercut to the unsuspecting henchman. The henchman was floored immediately.

The third and last of the black suited henchman, who was, up to that moment, chasing Kole around, was already preparing himself to leap off the railing and down onto the first floor with his taser stick at ready. Gnarrk's highly tuned senses detected the incoming henchman as he went airborne. Gnarrk faced the oncoming threat from above, gripped Kole's legs tightly, and took a ready stance.

When the henchmen was about ten feet from the ground, Gnarrk swung Kole's crystal body like professional baseball player and nailed the henchman right in the kisser, sending him flying back up onto the second floor, completely knocked out.

Gnarrk gave a wry smile as he casually tossed Kole's body into the air. The girl returned to her organic form instantaneously and landed on her feet with ease. She turned to her partner who gave her a thumbs-up, one of the few things he ever learned from modern communication skills. Kole returned the gesture along with a smile.

"Good job, buddy," she said, "now let's get outta here before the others catch up with us."

Gnarrk nodded and leaned down slightly. Kole then casually climbed up his back and held onto his shoulders, piggyback like. They both ran out the door, hoping to find their way out of the cavern.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Outside.

Kole and Gnarrk were as lost as they could ever hope to be. In a town that was as ancient as natural history and being chased by a bunch of weird guys in strange black and white suits with crazy-looking weapons, few people would have the time or ability to pick up a sense of direction. They continued down streets and alleys hoping to find the cave entrance once again but weren't having much luck at all.

It would have been possible for them to simply travel over the town; as in jump from one building to another the way Gnarrk usually does in their jungle home. However, Kole eventually pointed it out to her partner that that plan would make them way too vulnerable to the men who were chasing them. They stopped at a street in order to find their bearings.

"Oh man, we're so lost," said Kole, "I can't remember which way we came from anymore."

Gnarrk grunted in agreement as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well, bright side is that if we're having this much trouble, I guess those guys in the suits aren't having an easier time finding us, right? So we should be in the clear for now."

As she said this, a bolt of red electricity hit the pavement in front of them a little too close for comfort. Kole gave a surprised cry and Gnarrk gave an alarmed yelp as he jumped back slightly. They both looked up onto a nearby rooftop and found the leading officer of the henchmen (the one with the black stripe on his suit) holding out his taser rod and preparing to open fire again.

Gnarrk didn't waste time in waiting and immediately began running again with Kole on his back as red bolts began pelting the ground behind them. The two managed to escape in the cover of a nearby alley and the leader stopped shooting. He steadied his taser rod and pressed the side of his mask where his ear would be. Underneath the breather mask, he gave orders to his comrades.

The two heroes traveled down a few more alleys of the ancient city, taking randomly chosen turns. While running down one alley, Gnarrk was prompted to stop when a bunch of the white-suited men appeared at the end of the alley. He slowly began to back away as they threateningly aim their weapons. Kole popped her head out and analyzed the situation.

"Hey, Gnarrk, still remember what we've practiced?" she asked with a wry smile.

Gnarrk looked back at her and nodded while also giving a wry smile.

Kole then climbed up over Gnarrk's shoulders and leapt off. In mid-air, she tucked herself into a ball and crystallized her body. Gnarrk grabbed her in mid-air maid like a professional bowler by bowling Kole's body down the alley towards the white-suited henchmen who were caught off-guard by the unusual offensive.

The henchmen tried to counter the attack by shooting directly at Kole's body but failed as Kole was totally invulnerable to anything they could ever hope to muster. Kole's body barreled down the alley and into the crowd of white-suited henchmen. All of the men were tripped then fell flat on their faces, some knocked-out. Those that were able to recover were subjected to a follow-up clobbering by Gnarrk who had alreaday followed Kole down the alley.

Kole returned to her organic form and stood victoriously over the fallen henchmen. Kole the called for Gnarrk and climbed up o his back again and they resumed trying to find an exit. They went for a while without running into any trouble. Kole looked behind them as Gnarrk kept running.

"I think we lost them this time," she said.

As she said that, Gnarrk skidded to an abrupt halt as he was suddenly ambushed by the gang leader who appeared from out of an alley, taser rod ready. Kole turned her head and noticed the leader getting ready to shoot. She thought quickly and climbed over Gnarrk's shoulders once again.

"Gnarrk, get down!" she yelled out as she landed on the floor in front of him. She spread her arms wide and turned into crystal just as the leader fired.

Gnarrk did as he was told and ducked behind Kole's crystal body which neutralized the incoming bolt of red electricity from the taser rod. Gnarrk thought quickly and grabbed onto Kole's body and held it out in front of him. The leader fired a few more times. Gnarrk was able to protect himself fairly easily with Kole's assistance. With Kole's indestructible body as a shield, Gnarrk charged at the leader who's only choice was to jump out of the way of the barreling caveman.

Gnarrk ran past the leader and continued forward deeper into the town. Kole turned back to her organic body and resumed her position of piggybacking Gnarrk. They kept on running for a while, again, seemingly free of their pursuers.

They stopped on top of a wide bridge that overlooked a deep chasm so that Gnarrk can catch his breath. Kole hopped down off of him and scanned the nearby area with her eyes. After a while, nothing happened to indicate that they were still being pursued. She turned to her partner to deliver the good news.

"Okay, this time," she said optimistically, "there's no way they could follow us."

As she said that, the three black-suited henchmen from much earlier suddenly dropped out of nowhere and covered one end of the bridge, taser sticks held at ready. Both heroes turned in shock and did their best to look ready. A moment later, the small group of the white-suited henchmen, wielding the taser rods, came out of a nearby alley and blocked off the other end of the bridge. Kole and Gnarrk were now virtually surrounded with no way out.

"I should really shut up now," said Kole meekly.

Gnarrk grumbled with agreement.

Moments later, the leader appeared from somewhere to the side. He eyed the two honorary Titans with hidden anguish beneath his mask. He wielded his taser rod and readied it. The two heroes looked back, doing their best to restrain the fear in their faces. The leader aimed at them, but did not fire. He then aimed at the bridge supports above them and began to fire indiscriminately. The result was as one would expect.

As the bridge already ruined supports gave way, the entire structure collapsed and the two heroes fell into the deep gorge under them and were soon swallowed by the darkness as their screams died out. All was silent for what seemed like the longest time where nothing happened. Satisfied, the henchmen eventually decided to leave, believing they had finally earned victory.

Unlike Kole and Gnarrk, the henchmen had no problem finding their way back to their caravan due to a tracking system installed in their suits which allowed them to locate each other easily. By the time they arrived at the central courtyard, the rest of their group had already finished loading up their unusual cargo onto the large mechanical caterpillar of a vehicle. Soon the caravan was on their way out of the cavern with their 'prize', leaving nothing in their wake.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

A short while later.

Within the chasm, a soft groaning could be heard. If anyone were to look deep enough, they would see that the two Titans that fell were not quite as dead as the strange-suited henchmen would have wanted them to be. But their position was perilous nonetheless.

Gnarrk was hanging from Kole's body which was again in crystal form, straight bodied, and unceremoniously stabbed into the side of the rock wall. During the fall, Kole must have transformed herself in this state and Gnarrk jabbed her to the wall in order to stop the fall, saving their lives. But now, they needed to get out of this situation and they already knew that much.

Gnarrk freed a hand and grabbed onto holds he found on the natural rock wall. He then pulled Kole out of the rock and allowed her to hang onto his back again as soon as she returned to her normal body. Gnarrk started free climbing up the rock face, eventually reaching the top where the bridge used to be. As Gnarrk caught his breath, Kole again started to scan the are for danger. She detected nothing.

"At the risk of jinxing the moment once again," she said quietly to her partner, "I really think we're safe now, pal."

Not wanting to disagree, Gnarrk nodded accompanied by a soft groan. He wanted to be optimistic for once in the day.

"They probably think we're goners now, which means they'll be leaving. C'mon, let's see if we can still follow them."

They started to travel through the town again, this time via the rooftops as was originally suggested, no longer needing to be wary of being pursued. They soon found their way back to the courtyard only to find it empty. The traced the paved road on which the caravan traveled and made their way back to the cave. They traveled cautiously, not wanting to give away the fact that they were still alive.

Fortunately and unfortunately for the two heroes, they never encountered the caravan in the cave. They soon reached the outside world and their faces were soon stung by the cold winds of the arctic once again. Try as they did, they could not spot the caravan and only saw the pure white of snow in front of their eyes.

The caravan was gone.

Gnarrk looked down at Kole and grumbled something.

Kole looked up at him. "We need to tell the Titans about this, that's what we'll do now…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own nobody!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Early morning in Jump City.

Across the clouded sky and over the bustling morning crowd that flocked the city streets hundreds of feet below, a green albatross fly's gracefully over the city in a casual pace, not to fast or too slow. With sharp eyes, the oddly colored bird scans the city below for nothing and nobody in particular. It watched as the people on the streets went about their day as they would do everyday. The bird was thankful that everything was all right, nothing was worth alarming about for the moment.

The green albatross dipped its wings and slowly glided to a lower altitude so that it was just on the level of the tall high-rises that compose most of the city's uptown district. It kept gliding lower and further into downtown still continuing its reconnaissance activities of the city, more out of habit rather than need. It reached downtown where the bird spotted something strange. On the roof of a fairly short building that was next door to a local school was a girl with blazing red hair, unusual orange skin, and a silver and purple costume. To the bird, this was a bit unexpected.

The green albatross swooped down faster towards the girl who had her back to it. The girl was staring down at the school as a bunch of students were already scrambling inside the school buildings as the first bell of the day sounded loudly though the halls and echoing outdoors.

By the time all the students have gone in the buildings for their first class, the green albatross had landed on the rooftop about ten or so feet away from the girl and transformed back into the more familiar figure of Beast Boy. The green Titan dusted himself casually and looked up to greet his teammate Starfire, who was completely oblivious to his presence. He sighed and shook his head.

"Hey, Starfire!" he called out.

The Tamaranean girl shrieked with surprise and jumped into the air to turn around and face her teammate who was chuckling to himself. "Oh, Beast Boy," she said, "I did not notice your presence there. I apologize."

"Nah, it's cool."

Starfire straightened herself out to look more proper. "So, what bring you to this particular location, Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy gave a wry smile. "I could ask you the same question, Star."

"Eh?"

"Been checking up on _her _again, huh?"

Starfire blushed slightly and stammered for words as she clasped her hands together and dug into the ground with one foot. Beast Boy could already tell the answer from that. The fact that they were standing next to that particular school was already a dead giveaway.

"Well…" Starfire started, "…she was, after all, a close friend, Beast Boy… no matter what she did, she was, deep down, a good person."

"Yeah, I know, Star. But you shouldn't really be checking up on her so much. She might notice you and think there's something wrong."

"I am merely concerned."

"I can see that. You've been coming here at least twice a week just to see her."

Starfire blushed slightly. Eh heh heh…But you were the same back then. Why have you neglected to check up on her? Or, at least, continue your investigation as to the possible reasons of her return."

C'mon Star, we're not even a hundred percent that she is who we think she is."

"Still, even if there was a chance, would you not try to confirm it."

"Well, that was how I used to think about it. But then, I guess I realized something."

"What is it that you have realized, Friend?"

Beast Boy hesitated for a moment to gather the words in his head. "People like her, Star, dream of nothing more than to live a normal life. I think even we, of all people, could pretty much understand that, 'ya know? Looking at _her _now, she got what she wanted…and deserved. If I was half the friend I wanted to be, I'd let her keep it. The best thing I could do for her right now is leave her alone…and let the both of us move forward."

Starfire contemplated deeply what Beast Boy just said. It was rare (extremely rare by any standard) that Beast Boy have any profound moments. But when he does, he's usually right about something. Starfire could immediately see this and gave no argument.

"You are right, Beast Boy," said Starfire, "I should have realized."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you would've figured it out for yourself, Star."

"Even though you say so, I still believe you bear some concern towards her."

"What makes you say that?"

"You are here, standing in front of me, yes?"

Beast Boy thought about this for a moment. He then brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head as he grinned with a slight blush on his face, "Heh, Got me there…"

At that moment, their communicators suddenly beeped to life. Out of habit, the two Titans reached for them and answered the call without a split-second of hesitation spared. When they answered, Robin's face predictably filled the small, round LCD screens of the high-tech devices.

"Starfire, Beast Boy," said Robin in his authoritarian tone, "where are you guys?"

"We are in the vicinity of the Murakami High School," answered Starfire.

Robin sighed. "Hmm, I should've known."

"So," cut in Beast Boy, "what's the deal, chief?"

"There's a robbery in progress uptown. The HIVE Five just broke into a big electronics store. We're on our way there. You guys catch up as soon as you can. Got it?"

"We understand, Robin," replied Starfire, "we shall make haste to your location."

"Good. Robin out."

The transmission was cut and the two Titans pocketed away their communicators. Beast Boy excitedly did some flexing exercises to illustrate his eagerness.

"C'mon, Star!" he exclaimed "We'll be on those guys like mayonnaise on a whole-wheat bun!"

Starfire looked a bit baffled. "Please explain to me how common earth food dressing would aid us in stopping the Hive Five in their attempted robberies."

Beast Boy sighed exasperatingly. "…never mind, Starfire. Let's just go already!"

"Yes, Let us!"

Starfire took to the air like a natural. Beast boy transformed into an eagle and took flight after her. They both headed to the crime scene as fast as they can.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Uptown, Jump City.

In a local electronics shop, havoc was taking place as the notorious gang of super powered beings known to many as the HIVE Five: Gizmo, Mammoth, See-More, Kid Wykkyd, and Billy Numerous. Panicking civilians were already rushing out the door while the rest hid behind counters, desks, and displays all over.

Kid Wykkyd, along with Mammoth and See-more were raiding every cash register they could find and stuffing them into a floating bubble See-More created with his eyepiece. Gizmo, with his mechanical legs procuring from his backpack, picked at the helpless civilians' pockets and removed all their valuables. Billy Numerous was all over the place, quite literally, as his many selves were moving about the store gathering all the expensive electronics they could carry.

Mammoth was at one of the cash registers and rubbing his chin as he stared down at the cash register with his other hand hovering right above it. With his index finger he started pushing the buttons, trying to get the cash register to open. He switches his other hand from ribbing his cheek to scratching the top of his noggin. See-More and Kid Wykkyd walked by and noticed.

"Need some help there, buddy?" asked See-More.

Mammoth raised his hand and balled it into a tight fist then slammed it down at the cash register like a sledgehammer. The machine instantly crumbled under the immense impact and the cash tray easily slid out allowing Mammoth to grab the money easily.

He looked up and grinned at his teammates. "Nope."

See-More and Kid Wykkyd grinned back. Meanwhile Billy was raiding the racks and shelves of assorted electronic goods.

"Hot diggidy dang!" said one Billy, "this is one heap of a catch! Ain't that right Billy?"

"That's right Billy!" said another Billy.

"You got it Billy!" said another Billy.

"Yo Billy!" called another Billy, "check this out! Quick!"

All of the Billy duplicates flocked together to where the Billy who called out was standing. They all stared at what they probably considered at one of the most divine sights ever to grace their eyeballs. Gizmo noticed and moved towards where the numerous Billy duplicates were all huddled via twin helicopter blades that protruded from his mechanical backpack.

"What the heck are you morons looking at?" Gizmo asked. He looked for himself before he got an answer. He too went all googly-eyed.

Sitting on display, on top of a lavishly decorated pedestal and highlighted by a single spotlight shining straight down at it, was the Gamestation 540™. All the Billys, Gizmo, and now joined by Mammoth, See-More, and Kid Wykkyd, all stared with their eyes all bugged out.

"All right!" exclaimed Gizmo, "This is what we came for. Now let's Steal it and get back home so I can hook it up."

"I call first dibs!" said one Billy.

"I second that!" said a second Billy.

"Me too!" said a third Billy.

"Hoo-wee!" exclaimed a ninth Billy, "Crazy Monkey 3 LAN party tonight!"

Gizmo flew in front of the group. "Hey, no way you barf-brains! I planned this heist, I get first dibs!"

"Says who?" argued yet another Billy.

"I should get first dibs," said Mammoth, "I broke the door down to this place!"

"So?" replied See-More, "I could've just blasted the door down! What kind of a lame excise is tat, Mammoth?"

"The only way any of you crud-pickers is gonna use that before me," said Gizmo over the others' arguments, "is over my dead body!"

Kid Wykkyd gave Gizmo a rather morbid look after he said that comment.

Gizmo noticed. "Don't even think about it!"

"How about you settle that in jail?"

The entire crew of the HIVE five turned to where the voice of a familiar figure was heard. Standing near the entrance were the Teen Titans in all their glory; Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg. The Hive Five dropped all the loot they were carrying and stood ready for a fight that they knew was all too inevitable.

"'Cause that's where you are headed, and will be for quite a while," completed Robin, then he thrust his finger forwards. "Titans, Go!"

The HIVE Five scrambled in multiple directions which forced the Titans to do the same, each individually engaging a single member of the villainous gang. Beast Boy went after Gizmo in leapord form, which proved to be a more crucial choice of animal than the changeling originally thought. Gizmo started flying backwards to escape the big cat's claws and at the same time firing dual laser turrets that pooped out from behind his shoulders.

Beast Boy used all of his leopard form's agility to avoid the rapid fire laser bolt that pelted the floor. Beast Boy dodged to his right and Gizmo adjusted his am accordingly, pelting some merchandise with his lasers. Beast Boy ran up some displays and shelves trying to circle around Gizmo. Gizmo saw this strategy and began distancing himself from the Titan.

Gizmo grinned confidently. "Is that the best you can do you, you snot-muncher?"

The green leopard leapt off the shelf it was on and spontaneously transformed into an owl. Beast Boy, now in owl form, swooped down low nearly grazing the floor. Beast boy was fast enough to stay ahead of Gizmo's barrage of laser fire and even flew under a table full of video cases on display, which Gizmo's shooting decimated.

The dust cloud that resulted from the table being pulverized momentarily distracted Gizmo and caused him to loose sight of Beast Boy. That crucial few seconds was all that Beat Boy needed to retaliate. He flew form the ruble heading directly towards Gizmo's face.

Gizmo finally noticed the changeling and was already re-adjusting his aim. Beast Boy surprised him by turning into an octopus and wrapping his slimy tentacles around his face.

With an octopus stuck to his face, Gizmo had a rather hard time keeping himself in the air. His flying became erratic as he was more concentrated in prying the boneless crustacean from his face which really wasn't going too well in his favor. Beast Boy, from where he was, had a better view than Gizmo and he could see an immediate need to bail.

Beast boy did just that and relinquished his grip on Gizmo's face by spontaneously transforming into a bee and buzzing away. Gizmo wiped the slime off his face in time to see that he was headed straight for a stack of videos. He wasn't able to correct his trajectory in time and all he could do was scream just before he crashed into the stack sending it toppling down on him.

"Crud…" came Gizmo's muffled voice.

Meanwhile, Raven was taking on Kid Wykkyd. The former HIVE student was doing particularly well in evading Raven's repeated blasts of dark magical energy, mostly thanks to his ability of being able to teleport instantaneously. Kid Wykkyd used this ability to also get behind Raven after she just missed him with a telekinetically thrown display stand.

Kid Wykkyd suddenly reappeared from behind Raven and quickly put her into a submissive choke hold. Raven struggle as Kid Wykkyd tried to strangle the consciousness out of her. She managed to pull his arms far enough from her neck long enough for her to chant her magic words.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" said Raven.

From behind the two, a chair was suddenly surrounded with a black energy and lifted itself off the ground. It then flung itself towards the two struggling teens and managed to hit Kid Wykkyd right on his back. Kid Wykkyd gave a mute yelp and was forced to loosen his grip on Raven. Raven capitalized on this moment and grabbed onto the boy's arms then threw him over her shoulder and onto the floor.

Kid Wykkyd rolled about a few feet away before quickly getting back up to his feet. Raven, for her part was already in the air, levitating herself via her powers, and lifting the same chair she used a while ago. Raven telekinetically threw the chair at the HIVE student.

She missed as Kid Wykkyd leapt high into the air as the chair hit the floor. Raven watched as Kid Wykkyd went in a wide arc and came down at her with a flying kick. Thinking quickly, Raven spontaneously created a black portal right in front of her which Kid Wykkyd fell into. She closed the portal, turned to the side, and re-opened the portal right next to the wall. Kid Wykkyd came flying out of the portal and slammed hard into the wall. Kid Wykkyd fell down to the floor completely stunned.

Raven sighed and resumed her ever straight face. "Well that was fun…"

On the other side of the store, Starfire was facing Mammoth in a contest of brute strength. Mammoth threw a punch which knocked Starfire all the way to the back wall. She was stunned for only a moment and recovered in time to see Mammoth charging at her with another balled fist. She reacted instantly and flew straight up into the air. Mammoth's punch met nothing but the wall, which cracked under the impact.

Starfire lopped back down and kicked Mammoth in the back of his head sending his entire face right into the wall and created a more cracks in the wall in the process as well as burying his face in. Starfire hovered to a comfortable distance while Mammoth pulled himself free from the wall and gasped for air.

He turned around and saw Starfire grinning confidently at him. "Care to try again, villain?"

Mammoth fumed. "I'll make sure to flatten you real good!"

Mammoth reached to the side and grabbed onto a large desk and threw it towards Starfire. Starfire went bug-eyed and reacted as quickly as she can. She spectacularly grabbed onto the flying piece of very heavy furniture. The weight and sheer momentum of the object forced Starfire to float back and down to the ground before coming to a stop, still holding up the immense desk. Mammoth seemed flabbergasted by this feat.

Starfire's eyes glowed green as she used all her muscle power to throw the desk right back at Mammoth. Mammoth wasn't able to react in the same way as the Tamaranean princess and ended up taking the full impact of the desk with just his arms which he crossed in front of his body to block. The desk shattered into splinters and Mammoth was amazingly still able to stand albeit a bit wobbly. Starfire capitalized on this opportunity.

Starfire took to the air once again and flew straight at Mammoth with a vengeance. She charged a starbolt in one had and balled that hand into a fist. Mammoth was still recovering from the shock of the impact when Starfire delivered an uppercut to the chin.

The combination of Starfire's immense Tamaranean-born strength and the explosive power of the starbolt in her hand sent giant of a man straight trough the ceiling. It took all of five second for Mammoth to come back down. He was out cold the moment he hit the floor. Starfire was the clear winner here.

Beast Boy and Raven both walked up next to Starfire. "Great job, Star!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Yeah," said Raven, in her usual monotone. "Real super…"

"I have, as you would say, demolished the residential dwelling, wouldn't you say?" asked Starfire all innocently.

Raven groaned while Beast Boy corrected their friend. "It's 'brought the house down' Star. But that was close enough, I guess…"

"I hope these people have insurance," said Raven.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was taking care of See-More, but wasn't looking to be too good at it. See-More was standing in one spot, sniping at Cyborg with lasers form his eye. Cyborg was in the process of darting from cover to cover in attempts to keep himself getting hit which was becoming more and more of likelihood. He knew he needed a way to retaliate, and fast.

Cyborg ended up behind a large display of some upcoming sequel to the Wicked Scary movie series. It wouldn't be enough to stop See-More for long. See-More switched his eye to x-ray vision and easily spotted Cyborg behind the large display.

"I see you," said See-More as he again switched his eye to a different setting.

The new setting allowed the HIVE Five member to launch a large plasma eye that headed straight for Cyborg's location. Cyborg peeked from behind his cover to see the incoming projectile and jumped away in the nick of time just as the plasma eyeball impacted with the display and completely vaporized it in a flash of bright light.

There was a smoke cloud in the vicinity of the destroyed display that resulted from the explosion which pretty much reduced visibility to none. See-More couldn't see anything passed the display and switched his eye back to x-ray mode again. From his point-of-view, See-More wasn't able to see Cyborg right until the a blue beam of sonic energy came from the smoke and nailed See-More. The teen villain was instantly floored. See-More groaned as he tried to get back up only to meet Cyborg who was now standing over him.

"Betcha' didn't _see_ that one comin' did ya'" said Cyborg.

See-More grinned nervously. The last thing he saw before he was knocked-out was Cyborg's fist flying towards his face.

On another side of the store, Robin was holding his own against the multiple duplicates Billy Numerous who have surrounded him. Robin, with great aid from his bo staff, managed to fend off the attacking Billys with the ease of a true martial arts prodigy. But Billy wasn't running out of attacks anytime soon.

As one Billy would try and charge at Robin, the boy wonder would slap him upside his head with his bo staff and drive that Billy back. But another Billy would soon charge again which kept Robin very much occupied with his defense. Robin, at one point, swept the ground with his bo staff and managed to trip a good number of Billys while avoiding high strikes from Billys still standing. Another wave of Billys was charging at the boy wonder yet again. Before Robin could react, one Billy caught him from behind and held him in place with a chokehold. Robin knew he needed to act quickly before the incoming swarm of Billys overran him. He raised his staff and jabbed one end down at the toe of the Billy that was holding him.

"Yeeeooooowwww!" yelped Billy as he let go of Robin and grabbed his foot while hopping around on the other.

Robin quickly turned around and grabbed Billy by his collar and tossed him onto the oncoming crowd of other Billys. All most all of the Billys were toppled over by the sudden impact of one of themselves. All that remained standing were promptly knocked down by Robin and his bo staff.

That little victory, however, was short-lived as Robin found himself instantly surrounded by even more Billys, all of whom looked to be ready to charge in simultaneously.

"Hmm," said Robin to himself with a slight grin, "a bunch of similar-looking guys and me armed with a staff…I wonder…"

"I'm gonna bring you down, ya' little runt!" said all the Billys simultaneously.

They all started to charge in at Robin all at the same time. Robin jabbed his bo staff to the ground and held tightly to it with both hands while he pushed himself up into a horizontal position. As the Billys closed in on him, Robin kicked off one of the Billys and propelled himself in a forward counterclockwise spin and kept that momentum going by constantly kicking off more Billys as the came at him.

Once almost all of the Billys were downed and only one remained, Robin dropped back to his feet and, using his reserved momentum from his spin and swung his staff full circle into Billy's stomach, flooring him instantly and knocking him out. Robin stood victoriously as the many Billy Numerous duplicates began to revert back into one single Billy that was on the floor.

"Hmm, those moves in the movies really do work," said Robin. "I'll have to thank Beast Boy later."

The HIVE Five was now officially beat. The Titans gathered all the HIVE Five into one convenient pile and bound them together with a black energy ring that was conjured up by Raven hat prevented the villains from using their abilities.

"Boo-ya," said Cyborg, "that wraps things up here. What do ya'll say we get lunch now?"

"Dude, c'mon," said Beast Boy, "let's get the new Gamestation while we're here already."

"BB, we bought one last Saturday."

"Yeah, but we only bought _one_."

"Forget it, BB…"

Starfire moved up to Raven and Robin. "Do you fare well, friends?"

Robin turned to her and smiled at her ever gleaming personality. "Yeah, Starfire, we're fine."

"I'm not hurt," said Raven, "in fact, I barely broke a sweat. These guys just aren't what they used to be. I actually wanted them to put up a better fight than that."

"True," replied Starfire, "they have not performed as I expected. Why do you think this is?"

"Let's face it, Star. The only thing that made this group a real threat back then was Jinx. And with her now on our side, these guys are biting off way more than they can swallow with us."

By then, Gizmo and the rest of the HIVE Five have regained some semblance of consciousness and were aware of the on-going conversations. They were not the least bit pleased, understandably. They tried to break free from their bounds but Raven powers prevented them from escaping in any way they knew. This only peeved them even more.

"Curse you bunch of crud-licking, barf-munchers!" said Gizmo in his ever pleasant tone of voice, when I et out of here, I'll--"

"Dude, you're seriously in no position to make any kind of threat right now," said Beast Boy as he walked up to him, obviously taking a lot of entertainment from the boy genius's predicament. Gizmo could only growl back at him.

"Why don't you guys just settle down as he police get here to pick you up," said Cyborg, similarly expressing amusement.

"Yes, now it is time for you to go to jail and think about what you have done," said Starfire, motioning her finger like a teacher would when lecturing a bad student, getting a few laughs from her fellow Titans in the process. "Maybe then, when you have seen the error of your ways, you will--"

Starfire stopped suddenly in mid-speech and suddenly twitched her head to the side. She clamped her eyes shut and clench her teeth tightly as she grasped the sides of her temple as if in pain. The soft but obviously aching moans coming from Starfire attracted the curiosity of the HIVE Five and the concern o the Teen Titans, all of whom watched helplessly as she remained hovering in the air.

"Starfire?" called out a concerned Robin.

"You okay there, Star?" asked an equally concerned Beast Boy.

Starfire couldn't answer because when she opened her eyes again, her friends were no longer there.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere…

Starfire opened her eye to a very unfamiliar place. Gone were the familiar walls of the electronics store and were now replaced with a strange alien facility of some kind. The walls were of a design that Starfire couldn't recognize, despite the fact that she herself was an alien. Even though it was foreign to her, she could somehow discern that she was in some kind of laboratory. This fact, to a certain degree, alarmed her. It didn't help that she suddenly found herself being surrounded by five grotesque looking creatures.

The creatures that surrounded her were humanoid to an extent but their general shapes and anatomy varied differently from each other. Traits that were common were the creatures' threateningly sharp teeth, claws and beady little eyes that seem to drill holes into Starfire as they stared at her.

Starfire felt fear welling up in her. The creatures reminded her of something she once saw in one of the horror movies Beast Boy brought home. Like all of the other horror movies Beast Boy showed her, she didn't take to kindly to it. This fact made her a bit envious of Raven's indifference to this sort of thing. Heaven knew she needed it right then and there.

"Who are you?" she asked with a trembling voice.

The creatures replied in a language she couldn't understand. However, Starfire was easily able to tell by the simple tone of their voices that it wasn't anything beneficial to her. Suddenly, all the creatures bared their teeth and claws at her and began to close in on her.

Starfire began to panic a bit. "Stay back!"

She charged a starbolt in one hand. The creatures stopped for a while but then one of them hissed at her threateningly and took a bold step forward towards her. Starfire only took this as a threat and reacted immediately.

Starfire threw the starbolt at the creature.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Starfire threw the starbolt at Robin.

The boy wonder, though taken by absolute surprise, was nimble enough to jump out of the way just before the starbolt would have hit him. The starbolt exploded on the floor and the explosion propelled robin's rag doll body to the side and into a shelf of video players. The impact caused the boy wonder to go a little dizzy groan in pain.

Beast Boy saw this and couldn't believe his eyes. "Starfire, what are you doing?"

His inquiry certainly got Starfire's attention but Beast Boy wasn't sure if he really wanted it. Starfire's eyes glowed bright green. Beast Boy knew what was coming and transformed into a falcon and took flight. Starfire's eyebeams trailed after the green falcon and managed to singe a few tail feathers.

Beast Boy felt the heat and immediately landed, transforming back into his normal form and ran in a comical manner while using his hands to pat his rear which was on fire. "Ow, ow, ow, ow! Hot, hot hot!"

Cyborg moved in to try and calm Starfire down. "Yo, girl, have you lost your mind?"

Starfire instantly turned to him and came diving at him.

"Aw, dang…" said Cyborg.

Starfire tackled Cyborg to the ground and scraped him across the floor and created a trench in the floor while doing so. Starfire then picked him up and tossed him towards the shelf of video player where Robin was just recovering. Robin was just getting to his feet when he heard Cyborg screaming as he came down at him. Robin had only a split second as he stepped to the side and avoid being crushed by his own teammate.

Cyborg unceremoniously crashed into the shelf and smashed it to splinters, as well as crushing a few electronics. Robin moved to assist Cyborg as best he can. Meanwhile, Raven was the last Tiatn that was still capable.

This was a bad situation for Raven since she was a bit preoccupied in keeping the HIVE Five under wraps with her powers and here was Starfire, now looking at her, with glowing green eyes and a starbolt at each hand.

A nervous drop of sweat ran down the back of Raven's head. "Ummm, if this is about the time I blew up your home-made pancakes…"

Starfire yelled something in Tamaranean and threw a pair of starbolts at Raven. The dark girl was forced to relinquish her hold on the HIVE Five and created a black energy shield in front of her to protect her from Starfire's attack. The shield barely held as Starfire kept on pelting at it. Soon enough the other Titans came to Raven's aid to try and remedy the situation.

Beast Boy leapt into the air as a big gorilla and grabbed Starfire from behind and dragged her back down to earth. Starfire was strong enough however to break free from the green gorilla's grip and subsequently throw the gorilla to the side, right into another display case. The rest of the Titans decided to keep a little distance as Starfire turned to them with murder in her eyes.

In the meantime, all of the HIVE Five members, now free from their bonds, watched in disbelief as the Tamaranean girl was attacking her own friends.

"What in tarnation?" said Billy Numerous while scratching the top of his head.

"What's her malfunction?" asked See-More, turning to his companions.

"Heck if I know, man" replied Mammoth. Next to him, Kid Wykkyd shrugged indicating his similar lack of understanding.

"I may not know what her problem is," said Gizmo, "but I know a good getaway opportunity when I see one." As he said that he turned to his teammates to see if they got his drift. They did and they immediately started rushing towards the back door. Billy Numerous reached it first and opened it for him to get out. He was soon followed by See-more, then Kid Wykkyd, then Gizmo, hovering with his twin helicopter blades. Mammoth quickly saw that he couldn't actually fit through the door and, having no time to slouch down so that he could fit, simply smashed through the door, enlarging it by a about three times its original size.

The Titans were still preoccupied with their raging teammate when all of the HIVE Five made a clean escape. But, after a few moments, Starfire suddenly stopped in her rampage and simply floated in the air, again grasping her head and keeping her eyes shut.

She reopened them and instantly recognized where she was. When full realization hit her, she was a bit disturbed to find that her friends were a little more battle weary than she remembered when she ast saw them. The Titans noticed this change in Starfire and immediately stood down, sensing that there was no longer a need to fear her for now.

A moment later, all the Titans noticed that the HIVE Five were gone.

Starfire was naturally the most confused. "Friends, what has happened here? What happened to this place? Why do you all look so weary all of a sudden? Why is the HIVE Five gone? Was there an attack that I was not aware of?"

All the other Titans stared at her with immense annoyance evident in their expressions.

A drop of sweat ran down Starfire's temple. "Was it something I said?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Sometime later, in the HIVE Five's secret layer.

All five of the boys walked into their main room, looking a little bit dreary. They were all hunched over and had their arms dangling loosely in front of them.

"Man, I'm beat," said Mammoth.

"I need a drink," said Billy Numerous, right before duplicating himself.

"I'll get it for you, Billy," said the other Billy and started walking towards the fridge.

"Not that I'm complaining and all," said See-More, "but can somebody please try and explain to what happened back there. I mean, that was like the craziest thing, Starfire suddenly going all-out on the Titans like that."

"Yeah," said Gizmo. "That was kinda weird wasn't it."

"How do you think it happened?" asked Mammoth. Next to him, Kid Wykkyd also waited for whatever answer that Gizmo could give.

"But don't ya'll think that was a bit familiar," said the second Billy handing the first Billy a bottle of water, "you get what I mean, Billy?"

"I reckon' I do, Billy."

"He's right," said Gizmo, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that it was the work of--"

"Me?"

The distinctly female voice came from out of nowhere. All of the boys jumped at surprise and Billy Numerous sprayed his drink. They all turned to the couch where a figure was seated in the middle. They were a bit amazed how they didn't notice in the first place.

The figure was that of a teenage girl with a very voluptuous figure highlighted by her black, skin-tight body suit covered in various tribal designs. The only skin showing was from her neck up. Her skin was pale and her long hair was a gleaming silver color. Her eyes were gold and looked like a cat's eyes. She wore a most enticing smile on her face as she stood to her full height and started walking towards the boys.

"What a quaint little dwelling you boys have here," she said. "A little shabby, but quaint."

The boys knew instantly who she was.

"Fallacy?" said Mammoth, "What are you doing here? We thought you were--"

"Oh, silly boy, you think I would forget the taste of freedom so easily? I'm glad though that you remember me"

"It's nice to see you an all, Fallacy," said See-More, "but what are you doing here? And How'd you find this place anyway?"

Fallacy's expression changed to something cold. "That is beside the point, my friends. I'm am here because there are other things that need to be remembered. Wrongs have been done to us and we must fix them. And now I come to you, for I need of your help."

"For what exactly?" asked Gizmo.

Fallacy's mouth curved to a slight grin. "For vengeance…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: First of all, thanks to my first reviewers for this story. Secondly, I noticed a little mistake in my first chapter regarding Gnarrk's name. By the time I uploaded this chapter, I would have corrected it already. Pls. R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the thing that's not mine.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Titans Tower, as nighttime crawls around the corner.

"An illusion?" asked Robin.

"Most likely," said Raven, "There are only a few other explanations for Starfire's behavior earlier today and each one is less likely the previous."

The Titans all nodded in agreement. They were all standing around in the main room of the tower having a debriefing of sorts. Today's little escapade ended up less than satisfactory for them all. But the most affected was Starfire who, even though through no fault of her own, was the main cause for the escape of the rather notorious gang of teenage villains, the HIVE Five.

After that the Titans conducted a search for the HIVE Five and wherever they have gone. They searched high and low all over the nearby area but the villains seemed to have left no trace. Thy also tried searching the old hideout but that place looked to be long abandoned. After Kid Flash discovered this hideout and subsequently revealed it to the world, plus the fact that their former leader, Jinx, was now on the side of good, the HIVE Five was smart enough not to stick around.

When the Titans got there, the place was barren. Anything that was useful to the group, like the computer equipment and such, were ripped right off the wall and moved to wherever their new hideout is located which could have been anywhere as far as the Titans were concerned. After that the trail went cold.

The Titans continued searching anyway but it was all but fruitless. They looked around the city until the sun began to set and they finally decided to call the day. And now they were back at the tower, their landmark of a home.

"You're saying that it completely warped your perception of reality, Starfire?" asked Raven.

"Yes," quickly replied Starfire, "Though it was an illusion, I felt that it was completely real and I didn't have the need to question how and why I came to such a situation. That in itself is quite puzzling to me."

"An illusion that can completely takeover one's perception of reality. Must be one powerful spell. The mind sees an illusion which it perceives as completely reasonable."

"So you're saying," said Cyborg, "that it's like some kind of induced daydream?"

"Deeper than that. The mind couldn't tell it was dreaming."

"So it's like the dream when you're sleeping, right?" inquired Beast Boy.

"Close, but even in a deep sleep, the mind still has some capacity of telling itself which is real and which is not. This isn't the case with what happened to Starfire. Her mind was _forced_ to completely accept a totally false reality."

"Truly," said Starfire, "I am deeply regretful of my actions, fiends."

"Relax, Star," reassured Beast Boy, while rubbing the part of his butt that she accidentally burned, "it couldn't be helped. Something was messin' with your head at the time. It's not your fault."

"Something," said Cyborg, "or _someone_…"

Cyborg rubbed the bottom part of his chin while thinking deeply. Why not someone? Heaven knew that the Titans have faced their share of crazy characters in their extensive history as defenders of Jump City. It could be quite possible, if not almost certain, that some meta-human could be responsible for this. Besides, he couldn't shake the feeling that he's seen something like this before.

"Maybe he's right," agreed Raven. "I did sense a slight psychic disturbance at that time, but it was simply too feint to pin-point."

"This could mean more trouble for us," said Robin, even the pessimist that he was inclined to be in these kinds of situations. You'd think he'd learn to chill-out by then.

Every one of the Titans looked thought full at the prospects of this theory. Did the HIVE five have something new up their sleeves? Was there a new villain on the streets they weren't aware of yet? They all stayed silent in deep thought for quite a while but eventually that silence was broken by a rather rude and unexpected sound.

A long yawn came from Beast Boy's obviously tired voice. He raised a hand to rub the moisture in his eyes. He then looked y to see the rest of his team staring at him.

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "We've been searching the city for hours and it's almost my bedtime."

Raven sweat-dropped at this statement but nonetheless seemed to be in agreement with Beast Boy. "his right. We should get some rest."

"Yes, I agree as well," said Starfire.

Robin thought about this quickly and concluded that they were right. It had been a long day and it didn't look like it would get any shorter unless his team got some shut-eye. "Alright, you guys shouldrest up. We'll all tackle this problem again tomorrow morning."

"What about you, Robin?" asked Starfire, noticing Robin didn't include himself in the "rest" statement.

"I'll look into the possible suspects we have that caused you to see that illusion of yours, Starfire."

"You sure you can stay up till late night, man?" asked Cyborg.

Robin looked back at him with a smirk on his face.

"Right…forgot who I was talking to," said Cyborg. "Well don't stay up too late, man. G'night."

The rest of the Team said their goodnights to Robin and proceeded to exit the main room to venture into their individual bedrooms. Robin remained in the main room which was characteristic of him being the former ward of the Dark Knight of Gotham and all that jazz. Nights where his turf and he understood if his team weren't as enthusiastic about the nocturnal lifestyle as he was, but that was okay.

He moved to one of the nearby computer terminals and opened it up. The circular node that was built into the wall opened up to reveal a screen and keyboard. Robin was about to start typing away when he noticed something blinking on his screen. The thing that was blinking was an envelope icon and the words "new message received" under it. Robin clicked on the icon first and foremost. When the message opened up he looked at the header to see who it was from and when it was sent. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity at what he read.

"A message from Kole and Gnarrk?" said Robin, "Sent around this afternoon when we were out."

Robin started to concentrate on the message itself and began to read it. By the time he was finished, Robin was now very curios at the rather odd turn of events.

"Well…" said Robin, "…this is interesting"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere, many hours later.

Inside a dimly lit indoor space that was about the size of a medium-sized airplane hanger, a bunch of strange men wearing thick white suits that covered their entire body stood in the center of the rather wide concrete floor. The space was empty and quiet enough for anyone to hear a pin drop. The men didn't move from where they stood. They seemed to be waiting for something and they also seemed to have all the patience in the world while doing so.

Suddenly, one of the walls of the large hanger started to slide open and reveal a large doorway big enough to fit a medium-sized airplane (which would make sense being that the space was most likely a medium-sized hanger) but for now it was just as conveniently easy to fit a large, mechanical, caterpillar-like vehicle that slowly crawled itself into the hanger from the outside.

The men that were already inside didn't look the least bit alarmed.

After the vehicle had entered the structure with its full length, the doors behind it slowly closed behind it, denying access to anyone else. The Caterpillar stopped in the center of the large space. A door at the side opened and more of the white-suited henchmen climbed out. Three black-suited henchmen followed soon after and took their place on the floor. Finally, a white-suited henchman with a distinctive black stripe on his suit walked out.

At that same moment, an old voice came from seemingly out of nowhere. "Did you obtain it?"

All present turned to the source of the voice. From out of nowhere, Professor Chang appeared and casually walked towards the group. Upon seeing his boss, the black-striped officer of the group stepped forward slightly and gave his answer.

"Yes, sir" said the henchman, his low voiced partially muffled by his mask.

Professor Chang grinned widely, showing off his decaying teeth. "Show me."

The henchman leader nodded then turned to the two pilots who were still inside the cockpit of the caterpillar. They nodded back and manipulated the controls. From the top part of the caterpillar, a hatch opened up. At the same time, a long mechanical crane arm lifted from the roof. Its tip fed a length of cable into the open hatch and attached to something inside the vehicle. It then reeled in its cable and pulled out the strange spherical stone and set it at the floor right in front of the Professor.

Chang eyed it carefully, and then grinned once again. "Excellent…"

As if rehearsed, the men who were originally standing in the middle of the space quickly moved away when the giant rock was revealed and came back swiftly with something a little out of the ordinary to say the least.

The men came back pulling a large circular tray of some sort that was rolling on ball bearings and about thirty-five feet in diameter. The henchmen moved it by holding onto a handrail that was built into the side of the thing and was raised to about four feet for easy handling. On the top part of the tray were some odd-looking machinery that was yet to reveal their functions.

The henchmen moved the tray right next to the caterpillar with its lengthy crane arm holding the rock right over the tray. The crane arm lowered the rock until it was touching the large circular tray under it. When it did, hidden mechanisms in the tray sprang to life as four mechanical clamps rose for the surface and surrounded the large rock on four sides. Simultaneously, all snapped into the spherical rack and clamped down hard, holding the rock in place.

As the rock fully rested on the large tray, the caterpillar suddenly rose about a foot higher and the tray sank a foot lower to illustrate that there was a significant weight transfer due to the rock. The henchmen untied the cable from the rock and the crane arm reeled in its cable then folded away in the caterpillar once again. The rock remained fastened onto the tray and the men moved it away from the caterpillar and closer to Professor Chang.

The old villain moved about the rock and explored it from every angle. He seemed very impressed.

Despite its rough surface, the rock was almost perfectly spherical with a centralized mass. He tapped at its surface. And even with that simple tap, he felt the immense mass of the thing recoil his little tap enough to rattle his entire arm. It was extremely heavy despite being the size of your average Volkswagen beetle. No way was this thing made in the natural world.

The henchman leader walked nup next to Professor Chang. "Sir, is this the right one?"

"Oh, yes," replied Professor Chang but still kept his eyes affixed on the giant sphere, "you did well."

"It was as you said sir. The material was impenetrable. Though the scans revealed that it was essentially made out of natural earthen substances, it was produced in such a way that the material was harder than crystal. It was impossible to break."

"Yes, I expected that it would be such. The ancients wanted to keep something from the rest of the wold and they wanted to make sure that it stayed sealed. Their methods are uncanny to say the least but even this can be broken."

"How sir? Even our most powerful lasers don't phase it."

"Captain," Chang said looking towards him and referring to his apparent rank, "not all things can be solved with brute force. I learned that lesson the hard way. NO, what we need to do is not to break through it, rather we must let it naturally open by itself."

The henchman captain looked confused. "I can't quite get you sir."

"What we have here is essentially a treasure box holding an unbelievable treasure. And like all treasure chests, all we need is the right key."

Professor Chang stepped back and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass canister. Inside the canister was a small crystal glowing with a brilliant golden hue. Professor Chang held it up for all the men to see and wonder about.

"Fortunately for us," he said, "I have just that."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

The next morning back at Titans Tower.

"--and that's what happened in a nutshell…" said Kole's normally small face which was enlarged by the massive screen in the tower's main room.

Behind her, Gnarrk grunted in agreement.

Last night, Robin went through Kole's message multiple times just to make sure he didn't miss it. The morning after, he immediately called on the team to meet him in the main room so that they themselves were able to read the message. Needless to say their curiosity was more than a little piqued. Once breakfast was done, they contacted Kole and Gnarrk stationed in the far north of the globe to clarify the message.

Kole, being the more verbal of the duo, gave her little version of the story and translated Gnarrk's occasional tidbit. The Titans listened fully and made sure they understood. Robin especially, which really goes without saying.

"So are you guys alright?" asked Robin, his concern for fellow heroes showing to be more of a priority. Throughout all his experience as a Titan, he learned to always prioritize his teammates. Even though he would sometimes loose a case directly because of that concern, but he soon learned that they could always just chase after the bad guy some other time. Teammates, well those are irreplaceable.

"Yeah, we're fine," said Kole. "A little worn out maybe but nothing too serious."

"That is glorious news," said Starfire.

Raven stepped forward now. "So, you guys have any idea what Chang's henchmen took?"

Kole shook her head. "Not really, no."

"You guys sure?" inquired Beast Boy, "I mean "an oversized 8-ball" is kinda a little vague dontcha think?"

"Sorry, but that's the best description I can come up with. It was big, about ten or so feet across, black, and was perfectly spherical though the surface of it was a little roughed up."

"That really doesn't give us much though," said Cyborg. "That rock could be anything. Knowing it was Chang who found it and grabbed it, it has to be something that's worth worrying about. That guy gives science a lousy name."

Gnarrk grunted sympathetically, being a victim of science gone wrong himself.

"Not everything is what it seems," said Raven, "That oversized 8-ball might be something mre or at least, _hiding_ something more. We'll just have to investigate ourselves."

"Raven's right," concurred Robin, "we'll have to do some fact-finding. Kole, Gnarrk, if it's not too much trouble, 'd like you guys to keep a look-out for other strange happenings around you. Chang's men might just come back fore more. If that ever happens, contact us right away. Got it?"

Kole gave a thumbs-up. "Got it, Robin"

Gnarrk grunted gallantly to signify his willingness to do his duty as a Titan.

"Thanks," said Robin, "I'll be counting on you guys."

With that, Robin cut off the communication and Kole and Gnarrk's images disappeared from the giant video screen. The titans started too look amongst themselves to try and put two and two together. For a few moments nobody spoke as if they couldn't really find any good words at that moment

"Well this is interesting," said Beast Boy, always managing to come up with the right words first to get things rolling. "Guess we should go do the whole 'search under every rock' thing again."

"You mean look for Professor Chang?" asked Raven.

"With what Kole and Gnarrk just reported, shouldn't we?"

"I agree," said Starfire, "should we not try and investigate this situation? We know very well what the Professor Chang is capable of. We simply cannot let it rest."

"Yes, I agree with Starfire and Beast Boy but I don't think it'll be that simple," said Robin. "For one thing we don't even know where Professor Chang is right now or even if he is still in Jump City. The last time we saw him was in Paris when we took down the Brotherhood of Evil."

"And after that," said Cyborg, "the last anyone saw of him was in Steel City when the Titans East took him down along with Brother Blood. Though we know that Blood was finished after that, Chang disappeared and was never found. He could still be hiding in Steel City or anywhere else for that matter."

"Plus, that man has been known to be sort of an expert in staying under the radar," said Raven. "Whether he is or isn't inside our sphere of influence, it'll still be a challenge to actually find him even with our powers."

"Don't worry so much about it, Raven," said Robin. "After all, I was the one who initially discovered him didn't I?"

The rest of the team instantly looked towards Robin. They all soon figured out what he was talking about. It was Robin who initially found him when he needed a supply of xenothium he needed to create the Red X suit which he used to try to infiltrate their archenemy, Slade's, hideout. Of course, Robin had underestimated Slade back then and ended up failing that little mission.

Back then, Professor Chang was working as a simple weapons smuggler providing some of the most powerful villains on the Titan's rouges list their signature technology and not just the Red X suit. Professor Chang was known to have provided Dr. Light with the power supply for his high-tech suit. He was also one of the scientists who provided the technology in creating an ally of the Titans, Red Star. He also provided the Brotherhood of Evil with plenty of technology; the most prominent would be the freezing machine that the Brain used to freeze the captured Titans.

The last anybody saw of him was in Steel City when he joined forces with Brother Blood to try and build a superweapon that would've enabled them to take over the world. By then, he had moved from a simple weapons smuggler and became a full blown criminal mastermind who was the mutual partner of one of the most notorious masterminds of all time, Brother Blood.

But, at the last report, the valiant efforts of the Titans east had destroyed their plans and prevented disaster. Brother Blood lost his life and Professor Chang escaped by the skin of his teeth and was once again at large. Nobody has heard of him since then.

Until now, apparently.

"A guy like him," continued Robin, "especially of his age, will have a hard time kicking some old habits. If I'm right, he'll still try and use his old networks in whatever he's up to at the moment. Through that, I might be able to find a trail once again."

"You sure about that, dude?"

"I think it could be quite possible. But we'll never know until we actually try."

"That is fine, friends," said Starfire, "but may I inquire as to what we should do about the HIVE Five? As I recall, we have yet to apprehend them."

"Yeah, there's that too," said Beast Boy.

"Not to mention that thing or person that caused Starfire's hallucination," said Raven. "Whatever or whoever that might be, we can't just ignore it or the possibility that it may have something to do with the HIVE Five since that was the reason they got away from us in the first place."

"We'll just tackle this one at a time," said Robin. "We have no idea where the HIVE Five has set up their new hideout yet. And we also don't know where Professor Chang is either. We'll just have to look for them both separately."

The other Titans looked at Robin and thought about what he said. They soon knew that he was right. The HIVE Five and Professor Chang were, as far as they were concerned at the moment, two separate problems that needed to be tackled on different terms.

"Are we all agreed?" asked Robin to his team.

"Yeah I guess so," said Raven.

"Can't argue with that, man," said Cyborg.

"Yes, I agree," said Starfire.

"I guess you're right, Robin," said Beast Boy. "After all, we can be pretty sure that the HIVE Five and that old geezer, Chang, are probably not involved with each other anyway…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

In the HIVE Five's hideout.

"—and now you know."

Fallacy stood in front of the crowd of rather bewildered boys from the HIVE Five. They looked, above all else, surprised at her statement that their beloved Brother Blood, founder and headmaster of their glorious HIVE academy, was dead.

And the one responsible was Professor Chang.

"And now you know what you need to do," continued Fallacy. "We must avenge this atrocity. We must make sure that the traitor and his servants taste the bitter flavor of the same betrayal that they dealt our great headmaster…and me."

The boys began to look amongst themselves. They could pretty much understand what Fallacy was going for. She wanted revenge for what happened to Brother Blood's death. She believed that this directly because of another villain that was supposed to have been Blood's mutual partner, Professor Chang. But it seemed Chang abandoned him at the most crucial time and Blood ended up paying the price.

The way Fallacy said it, it really seemed to be that way. Chang was responsible and now they must take care of unfinished Business. The boys took a few glances at Fallacy to check her facial expressions. She was dead serious.

The boys knew why.

For the most part of her life, she had idolized Brother Blood believing he is everything a great leader is and should always be. When Brother Blood took over the HIVE Academy she was one of the few students he recruited himself. Fallacy has been famous among her peers for her rather rich enthusiasm for Brother Blood's philosophies. She always stood by his word and always defended it with the utmost dedication.

After the HIVE was infiltrated and subsequently destroyed by the Titans and Bumble Bee's efforts, Fallacy disappeared for a while and then later re-surfaced when Brother Blood needed help in his new plan to dominate the world. It was later found out that she was the one who actually freed him from his imprisonment in the Steel City Prison.

They later formed an alliance with Professor Chang and started construction on the GeoHammer, a superweapon with the ability to create geological anomalies anywhere on the globe on any scale. It was to be Brother Blood's key to a new world order. Unfortunately, his partner had other plans and when the going got tough, Professor Chang ran away for his own sake.

Fallacy had sworn vengeance that day. And now she will fulfill it…with a little help from some old comrades.

"So what do you say?" she asked.

The boys look amongst themselves one last time. Mammoth was the first to step forward with a straight face. "I'm in."

Fallacy smiled approvingly then looked towards the others. "And what about the rest of you?"

Billy Numerous was the next to step forward. "well shucks, ya'll know I just can't refuse a purty-lookin' lady such as you, Fallacy. I'm in!"

Another Billy suddenly appeared out of the first. "Count me in too!"

A third Billy appeared from the second. "Me three!"

Fallacy wore an expression of slight humor then looked towards the other remaining boys.

See-More stepped forward. "Well we all know what Brother Blood meant to us back then. I guess it's only proper we do this. Plus I guess we owe you for bailing us back their."

Kid Wykkyd stepped up next to See-More and gave an agreeing nod.

The last of the boys who have yet to give his answer was Gizmo. He was still the furthest away and had his hand on his chin. It was clear he was deep in thought about something and his teammates were visibly curious about what that might be, Fallacy most of all.

"Something on your mind, my little friend?" inquired Fallacy.

"I don't know…" said Gizmo. "Can we really decide so casually?"

The rest of the boys raised an eyebrow each in curiosity while Fallacy narrowed both of hers.

"We're the HIVE Five now!" continued Gizmo. "We're supposed to be an independent group of notorious supervillains. The academy is ancient history by now. We're past that. We've learned all we can from that place and we've been living on our own through thick and thin without anyone else's help. Dang it, we're supposed to be hardcore here! We can look out for ourselves just fine. Do we really have this kind of obligation?"

The boys seem to have been slightly taken aback by this and started to look amongst themselves in contemplation. The little guy does have some key points. But Fallacy wasn't about to loose her own points. She suddenly got to her feet and marched towards Gizmo.

"Obligation!" she exclaimed. "That's what you call it? You insolent little maggot!"

She started marching closer and the four who stepped forward now stepped aside to let her pass. Gizmo had nowhere to go and was stuck where he stood. All of a sudden his vision became a bit shaky and Fallacy's form seemed to be morphing slightly. The room suddenly began to shrink and Fallacy's figure a little more imposing. He could swear that her teeth were getting sharper by the second. In fact, all her facial feature were turning more…predatory

He couldn't tell what it was at first but then he quickly realized that it must be Fallacy's spellbinding powers that were causing the things that he was seeing. Gizmo knew it was all fake, but it scared the living daylights out of him nonetheless.

"How can you call it a mere obligation?" continued Fallacy as she slowly closed in on Gizmo. "What were you before he found you and recognized your pathetic little talents? Were you anything more than a mere delinquent with a penchant for mischief? What could you have ever achieved without his guidance or wisdom that he so graciously bestowed upon you? Without him, what would have any of you ever amounted to?"

By this moment she was standing right in front of gizmo and grabbing on to his suit. She hauled him up off the floor and lifted him so that their faces were less than a foot from each other. "I'll tell you what!"

To Gizmo, he was looking at one of the scariest sights he'd ever seen. Due to Fallacy's apparent hallucinogenic powers affecting him, he found that Fallacy's face has completely morphed into that of a monstrous predatory feline of some sort. Her face developed a snout and her bared teeth were as sharp as nails. She was also drooling a suspiciously red liquid.

"Nothing!" said Fallacy and Gizmo heard it as a low reverberating growl which drained the blood from his face. "This isn't a simple obligation on our part, my friend. This is out life debt!"

Gizmo didn't need any more convincing. "Alright! Alright, I got it!"

Fallacy removed her spell on him and his vision returned to normal. She also visibly calmed down and gently lowered Gizmo back to the floor. The other boys were frozen with nervousness.

"Uhhh…are ya'll cool now?" asked Billy Numerous.

"Yes, we are," said Fallacy.

Gizmo breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's understandable," said Fallacy, "We have all been through many trials that have tested our resolve. We have survived this long to prove that we are strong. But we must not forget those that have given us our strength. If we deny such, we deny ourselves of our worthiness as HIVE students or otherwise."

This time, all the boys nodded in complete agreement. Fallacy looked very satisfied. This wasn't such a bad day after all.

"Not to be a party-pooper or anything," said Mammoth, "but how are we gonna find that old geezer, Chang? Last I heard he wasn't even in the city anymore. We don't know where he is now"

Fallacy looked at him with a devilish grin. "We'll just have to ask some people who might know…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

The Jump City Airport

It was still early morning and most people were just having their breakfast. But at the Jump City airport, even at this considerably early hour, it was already business as usual. The lobby was already bustling with people who came from and going to wherever you can imagine on the globe. People of all walks of life tend to come and go as they please in airports like this.

Because of that fact, most people in an airport no longer seem to be able to differentiate between those who're dressing normally for their respective cultures. One can just assume that they came from wherever that happened to have a different fashion sense.

That's fine and dandy for the most part. Not just for the people who don't notice but also for the people who don't want to be noticed. A good example of which just walked across the lobby.

Coming out of an exit, a teenage boy casually strolled across the lobby of the airport affording as little stares as he could. From his soft facial features one could tell he was in his mid-teen years. From his general look, skin-tone and all, one could guess he was European of a sort. Is medium-length straight hair was dark brown with light, tan highlights. His eyes were a deep auburn hue.

As for his wardrobe, which could be considered a little unusual, he wore black denim cargo pants which were comfortably loose but not baggy held to his waist with dark brown leather belt and the bottom of the legs were tucked in heavy looking ankle-high boots. The many stitches and pockets of the pants were accentuated with silver lines. For his torso, he wore a comfortably snug, long-sleeved, turtleneck shirt made out of a thick material, also black and with silver-accentuated stitches which made the shirt seem to be tailor-made to match his pants. His hands were covered by similarly designed fingerless gloves.

Over it all, he wore an unusual jacket of sorts. The jacket was light-gray in color, almost like a cream color. It had short sleeves which only covered his arm up to the elbow. Starting at the waist, its back and side split into three separate tails that extended to just past the teen's knees. On the most part of the back of the jacket, drawn in bold black lines, was a traditional roman cross. The edges of the jacket were also accentuated heavy black lines.

As far as jewelry was concerned, the teen had a small, plainly designed, golden crucifix hanging off a short golden chain from his belt.

He continued to walk casually amongst the bustling crowds, not really minding if anyone was truly noticing him or just throwing a passing glance. It didn't really make a difference to him. All he was here for was his work. Continuing onwards, he reached the large glass windows which gave an amazing view of the city skyline. He watched as the rising sun's fresh rays of light caused the city to glisten.

"Jump City…" he said. "Sounds like a really interesting place…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Thanks to all those who read the story thus far but I could appreciate a review or two more. Please R&R. All your input are of great value to me.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't know nothin' 'bout ownin' no Teen Titans.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

On the outskirts of the city.

In the light of the setting sun, a lonely and wrecked observatory stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the bustling metropolis below it. The observatory was wrecked beyond compare; with its entire west side sliced clean off, there was absolutely no hope for the facility in its current state. Around it, lower on the mountain range, the forest has all but fallen to the ground as winter approaches and the mountain is now covered in a carpet of orange leaves. As the cold breeze caused a few leaves to flutter in the air, the observatory stood chillingly still.

This observatory was once a great spot for tourist and astronomers alike. But it aged and outlived its usefulness when entities like STAR Labs moved into the city. It was then, for a time, the unofficial home of one of the more notorious villains of Jump City, Professor Chang, who tried to use the facility as a gigantic weapon. But eventually, he too found no use o the place and left it to rot.

Right outside the structure, in front of the observatory's main entrance, a black portal appeared out of thin air. Raven casually stepped out of the portal and onto the concrete and pulled back her hood to reveal her full head. Beast Boy soon followed out of the portal and stood right behind her and the portal vanished instantly.

They both stared up at the gloomy sight of the barren observatory.

Raven put her hands on her waist and tiled her head slightly to the side. "This place has certainly seen better days."

Beast Boy scratched his head with one hand. "So, we're like supposed to look for clues in their or something?"

"Yes, Beast Boy. But I sincerely doubt we'll find anything useful."

"How do you figure that?"

"For one thing, I can't sense anything in there. Not a soul is in there or has been there for quite sometime."

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Then why do we bother?"

"There might still be something there nonetheless. Let's go."

Raven started moving towards the door and Beast Boy followed her. Raven tried the door but it was locked. She took a small step back and held her hand out to the door. A moment of concentration and the door was suddenly covered in black magical energy and lifted off their hinges then was blatantly discarded to the side. Raven and Beast Boy walked inside as if nothing had happened. They first crossed a dark and very empty lobby before they finally reached the familiar room of which they remember being frozen in and forced to watch as a madman threatened their city with giant laser beam.

There was certainly nothing left interesting in the room now. The vast space was barren on only filled with ruble and debris from unexpected battles. All of the important stuff like computers and machinery were all salvaged and moved elsewhere. It certainly looked like Raven's initial prediction of their search was correct.

Looking up, Beast Boy, was blinded slightly by the amber light of the setting sun since the giant hole in the west side. He looked elsewhere to avoid the glare. Meanwhile Raven was wandering somewhere to the side looking over the space.

"This place is depressing," said Raven. "Everything's old and unused. Everything is so quiet. No lighting. No signs of life. The whole building generally feels like dead weight."

"Wanna move out of the tower and live here?" asked Beast Boy with a wry smile. "I'll help you pack."

Raven shot Beast Boy a glare. "Wanna run that by me again?"

"Heh, heh, I was just kidding."

Raven decided to shrug off the joke. "Don't we have work to do here? Just hurry up and do it already."

Beast Boy jokingly stood at attention and saluted. "Aye-aye, ma'am!"

He then promptly transformed into a mouse and quickly scurried into the deep ruble. Raven rolled her eyes and gave an exasperating sigh. She decided to search the place herself, looking in the opposite direction of where beast boy traveled towards. There wasn't much to look at in that direction either. More ruble and debris here and there didn't amount to anything that was useful to her. A closer look she saw something else in the background which was a door with a plaque that read "employees only."

Might be something in there. You never know.

She walked towards it and tried the knob. Unbelievably, the door was locked. Raven curled her lips to one side. She took a step back and once again directed her palm at the door. It was instantly surrounded by a dark energy which, again, pulled it off its hinges and rested it on the wall nearby. Raven entered the unknown space.

It looked like a office space for the staff who once ran the observatory. Chang must've used this space when he was occupying the building, Raven figured, so their ight just be something here. Raven moved about the dark and deserted office space with only the amber light from the windows lighting her way. There wee some desks here and there but they all looked to be unused. Broken furniture was piled up in one corner of the space and left to rot. Looking inside the drawers of the desk revealed that there was nothing of interest in them.

Raven continued on and spotted something that seemed promising. There was another door at the end of the room. On the plaque attached to the door was the word "supervisor." Raven made a beeline towards the door. She momentarily considered trying the knob once again but soon discarded the notion and promptly removed the door via her telekinetic powers once again. Inside was no surprise.

It was a typical office space for one. There was a desk, a chair for the desk and two more for visitors, a single window, a desktop computer (Raven quickly noted that the CPU was visibly stripped of all its internal parts), a file cabinet in one corner and a large pot, which presumably held a plant at one point, in another corner. Raven moved to the desk and opened the drawers. She opened the first and found papers, lots of papers. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and took out the papers and placed the papers on the desk.

She quickly scanned the papers. They were mostly schematics for weapons that Professor Chang has been recognized to have used. There were schematics for the taser rods and the cement hoses used by his henchmen and a long set of schematics for the disintegrator cannon he used during the Titans' first encounter with him along with the Red X. All in all, they were mostly things that the Titans already know about and didn't need.

Another schematic was that of a large land-based vehicle which Raven seemed to remember Kole describing in detail. She set that one aside. There were other weapons that were unfamiliar to her but they all seemed to be either rejected material or something which were simply not conceivable.

She searched the other drawers and found that the rest were empty except the last one at the very bottom-right of the desk. In side was a single piece of paper. A small, rectangular, sepia photograph.

Raven picked it up and wiped the dust off of it to get a better look. It was a photo of a bunch of men in hiking attire standing in the middle of some kind of ancient-looking location. Time and nature had degraded the old photo so much that none of the men's features were indiscernible. Despite that fact, Raven could not help but recognize one man's elongated chin. There was no doubt in her mind who that person was.

She flipped over the photo. On the back, written in bold ink, was a set of coordinates. Raven knew enough about map-reading to see that the coordinates pointed to a location in the far north of the globe.

She grabbed the other papers she set aside along with the photo and made her exit, deciding that there was nothing more she could find there. She walked out of the office and back into the main room. Beast Boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Beast Boy?" she called out. "Where are you? Found anything?"

A green mouse popped his head out of the ruble in the distance. It managed to squeeze itself out from under the crack and transformed back into Beast Boy's elfin form. Beast boy walked towards Raven while dusting himself.

"There's nothing left down there," he said. "Everything's totally smashed by the debris."

"I figured as much," said Raven.

"How 'bout you? Found anything interesting?"

Raven looked at the pieces of paper she was holding. "I might have. But we won't know for sure until we check these out."

"Cool. I guess we're done here."

Raven nodded and prepared to make an exit for the both of them. But she hesitated when she looked out into the gaping hole in the side of the observatory. She saw the sun as it slowly started descending below the ocean. The clouds above glowed with a bright amber hue. Raven couldn't help but look and Beast Boy soon followed her lead.

The two must've spent about two minutes simply standing there, side by side, looking out into the sunset. They seemed completely at peace.

"You know," said Beast Boy, "it'll be Christmas in a few weeks. The snow will probably start falling in a few days."

"Yeah," said Raven, "probably…"

"We should really start getting into the holiday spirit and all. The mayor wants to make this year's Christmas really special. We even get to host a children's Christmas party at the tower. Starfire's looking forward to that. What about you, Rae?"

"Sure, but Christmas isn't exactly a holiday on Azar, you know."

"It isn't Tamaranean either but Starfire seems to get into the spirit pretty easily. Since we're having a Christmas party for other kids, she's already planning on where to hide all the presents for the scavenger hunt. She's very exited about that."

"Beast Boy, you should know by now that Starfire will get excited over just about anything that involves hiding colorfully decorated things."

"I guess you're right. Remember last Easter?"

"Don't remind me. I'm still finding Easter eggs in my room."

"Didn't you have holidays like this when you were younger, Rae?"

"We never really had anything like Christmas back in Azar."

"Don't you remember any holiday you had in Azar?"

"Like any sort of important date we mark down in our yearly calendar? Something like that?"

"Yeah."

"Then the closest thing I can come up with…is my birthday."

"Cool! That means the whole of Azar celebrated your birthday every year!"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "On my birthday, I would have to be locked inside the temple and everyone had to stay indoors and pray throughout the whole day that my father doesn't decide to show himself. I wasn't allowed to interact with anyone."

Beast Boy was silent.

Raven looked down at the ground. "It would only be a holiday when my father didn't show up. The next day is when the celebrating would begin. We usually had a feast at the temple. It was always a good feast and everybody would be happy for me. But the next day they would start to fear me again…hate me again…for the rest of the year, like always…"

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm sorry, Rae. Guess I touched a sensitive subject."

"I don't blame you for anything."

"Well…for all its worth, I think you don't have to worry about being feared anymore, Rae."

Raven looked at Beast Boy with a little bit of doubt in her eyes. "Is that so?" Raven looked back out into the sunset. "Well…I guess that's not so bad."

"Not so bad? You sound like you'd prefer for people to be afraid of you, Rae."

"That's not what I want, Beast Boy. I guess it's just because I got used to everybody fidgeting around me. It kinda got stuck in my head as a child that that's should be for me."

Beast Boy gave Raven a questioning look. "How long have you lived believing that everyone should be afraid of you?"

"…Too long."

"Long enough to forget what it's like to be cared for?"

"No, I never forgot that. I just forgot I could obtain it."

"Well, I don't think you have to think that way anymore. We pretty much beat your father's butt and got rid of him for good. You're not someone to be feared anymore. And you are most definitely not hated. You're a hero after all! A Teen Titan!"

Raven simply looked at Beast Boy for a while then slowly curved her lips into a smile that was barely noticeable. "You really think so?"

"Think? I know!"

Raven smirked slightly. "You're just saying that in spite of the holiday."

Beast boy turned his head towards her. "No, I'm saying that because I like to be honest with my friends who I really care about."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And that's why I think you should be pumped up for the holidays Raven. That's what Christmas is all about after all: The people you care about! To give and receive presents as a sign of one's love and care for one's family and friends. And to remember that the most precious and most cherished things in life are free."

"…You read that off the back of a cereal box, didn't you?"

"Actually, it was a milk carton."

Raven couldn't help but smile wider. "Thanks, Beast Boy. Sometimes you just know the right things to say."

"Well like I said, I like being honest."

"You do, don't you?"

"So do you still think that people are afraid of you?"

"I can always deal with people being afraid. But…"

"You're still a little worried about people not caring?"

Raven made a slightly annoyed face. "Don't put words in my mouth, Beast Boy."

"Well, if that's the case, you don't have to look far to find people who care about you, Rae."

Raven's lips curved ever so slightly more. Beast Boy did the same. They looked at each other for a while then they both stared out into the sunset once again. They stayed like that for a long while without really noticing the time pass by. It took a while before they can no longer see the sun as it disappeared into the ocean.

A long silence passed.

"We should get going," Raven finally stammered.

"Yeah, I guess so," replied Beast Boy.

Raven opened up a portal in between them. Beast Boy walked through it and disappeared. Raven hesitated for just a moment as her lips curved slightly once again just before she herself disappeared into the portal.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nighttime in Jump City, in the middle of the downtown district.

At a local café, the stranger from the airport has found himself a quiet seat and a hot cup of coffee to warm him for the night. As he was drinking he made sure to take in the sights of his surroundings. This was a natural to him due to his training; he never stepped anywhere without looking at his surroundings and make sure to look for whatever it is that might give one an advantage…when they needed it.

At that moment he didn't need it.

All he wanted to do was to take in the sights of the city. He's no stranger to metropolitan areas since he lived a, for some parts of his life, in cities and he has been quite the traveler for most of his…career. But nothing had ever compared to the sights he saw in this country especially when it came to cities. Jump City was much larger, much higher than he could have imagined for it to be and it took his breath away to see it all. He used to wonder why Americans were so fond of making things big. He thought he figured out the answer some time ago.

Where he came from has a long history compared to America. Where he lived most of his life was a place that lived at a slow pace and followed traditions that have survived through countless generations. This was the same for most of the other places he's traveled to.

Compared to all that, America was still very young and while its history is interesting, it's comparatively not so deep. This country was still growing, still learning, and still maturing, and still had a long way to go. And like any growing child, it had the need to show-off. It needed to prove that it was strong, that it was worthy.

Personally he liked looking through this country's history. He could see where this country made a few blunders here and there. But he also saw how it has grown over the centuries. It had great potential, more than the people living in it realized. Even though he knew the time when this country would mature will be way past his own time, it was still a good thing to ponder.

For now, he enjoyed the moment.

He took another sip of his coffee. He was starting to believe this was the best blend he's ever tasted. He looked around at the people around him. Though the sun had gone down, he was a bit amazed at the amount of activity that happened even in the absence of daylight. Early Christmas shoppers were still flooding the streets. The café itself was full of people, though it was a reasonably more quiet tone inside.

He noted that not a lot of people have given him much notice. Though his attire did grab a few looks, nobody really gave him a second glance. He was fine wit that. He watched as the people enjoyed their drinks and assorted desserts. He took note of a young couple sitting in an outdoor table. The boy had spiky, black hair and the girl had long flowing, blonde hair. They were having a rather nice chat with each other. He smiled at the couple but they didn't notice him.

He decided to leave right after sipping the last of his drink. He got up form his table and left a generous tip for the waitress to pick up. He left the café quickly and headed off in a casual pace to wherever he was going. He made sure to take in all the sights that he could as he trekked trough the city.

Eventually he reached his destination: JCPD Headquarters. An interesting destination, one might think. To the stranger, it was the first of many unusual destinations on his trip to Jump City. He stood just outside the walls of the compound on the sidewalk. He looked for a way to get in that did not involved being seen. He looked to his side when he noticed a convoy of patrol cars heading for a nearby gate to his other side. He thought of a quick plan. He put it into action by casually strolling in the direction of the oncoming convoy. All of the cars started to pass him one by one. He timed his approach carefully. As the last of the patrol cars passed by, he was suddenly no longer on the sidewalk.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Inside the basement parking levels.

The patrol cars parked themselves in their designated spots. The occupants of each car got out. All the officers chatted as they walked towards the elevator somewhere in the distant wall. After a few moments when the officers where out of range, the stranger stood up from behind the last car that came in. He watched as the officers made their way into the building through a door. He noted that they needed to individually scan their ID's into a security device on the wall in order to get in. It was a security measure to prevent intruders by only allowing authorized personal carrying proper ID's.

He grinned to himself, knowing that it wouldn't be a problem.

He carefully looked around the parking space and noted the location of several security cameras. He made his way to a nearby fire exit while avoiding being seen by any of those cameras. He moved briskly, expertly, across the parking garage, showing a good amount of skill. He's been doing this a lot and it showed.

He made it to the door without incident. Standing right in front of the door, he was out of sight of any of the security cameras. He pressed his ear against the door and listened for sounds. He could hear nothing that would indicate that there was a human presence directly beyond the door. He also knew he didn't need to worry about security cameras either since, in his experience, fire exit shafts almost never have cameras in them.

The door was locked from the inside and was guarded by another one of those ID scanners. The only way he could open the door was to have an ID or sound a fire alarm. He didn't have time to do the former and he knew it would be stupid to do the latter. And besides, he didn't need to open the door.

He took a step back. Then he partially took a step forward. As he did, his entire body, including the cloths on his back, suddenly turned into a translucent, bright, white, smoke-like substance. Most people would say that he resembled a ghost. As he continued to move forward, his entire body passed through the fire exit door like it was not even there.

He easily made his way to the other side of the door. Once the whole of his person was beyond the door, his body transformed back into its solid, tangible form.

He grinned to himself. "Easy as pie," he said to himself.

He looked around. Sure enough he was inside a fire exit shaft that rose all the way to the top floor. From where he was standing he could tell he was on the bottom floor since the stairs ended at his feet. He looked to the side and spotted something g very convenient: A printed floor plan nailed to the wall. He guessed that it was for maintenance purposes for technician and for firemen to find their way in case of a fire. For the moment, it helped the stranger find his way.

He moved close to the floor plans to get a better look. "Let's see what we have here."

He looked at the papers thoroughly, looking for the room he needed. It took him a quarter of a minute to find it. It was on the third floor and just down the hall from the fire exit door. He memorized his route easily enough and made his way up to the third floor via the stairs. He reached the fire exit door. He was about to press his ear against the door to listen for activity but as he did the door suddenly swung open and two young officers walked into the fire exit shaft.

"So a lot of people say," says the first officer, "that the artwork is a bit minimal. But I think that that is where the two books have their appeal. So what if there's no background on half of the panels, the only focus should be on the characters."

"But what about," said the other, "the characters? I mean most of the time, Kirio seems so cold and he doesn't seem to give Q-ko all the credit she deserves."

"He's just a kid after all so you can't expect him to have much of moral judgment yet. But it seemed that Q-ko did teach him that and he did soften up in the end."

"That's another thing: the ending. What happened in the end? Everyone was all crazy and then suddenly everything just stopped. Q-ko and Kirio disappear after fighting that moron of a lieutenant, Furiko and AA-ko are up in that tower surrounded by all the other "sisters," and Tatsuta is going crazy with anger. After that it's just blank."

"So…?"

"What kind of a story is it when there's a big hole in the ending? In fact, the whole story is full of holes."

"That's what makes it so great! Ueda Hajime purposely made the story that way. He wants the reader to fill in the gaps. It's a story that's supposed to make the reader use their imagination. And apparently, you don't have much of it."

"Man, I have plenty of imagination!"

The two officers took their conversation down below and disappeared through another door that lead into another floor. Throughout the whole time they never noticed another presence in the fire exit shaft except each other.

A long silence passed.

Suddenly the stranger's ghostly figure materialized right where he was standing next to the third floor exit. His body then returned to its completely tangible form. He put a palm to his chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," he said, thankful for his little known ability to turn completely invisible. He didn't use it much since he rarely needed it and while turning intangible was easy, turning his body invisible while in its intangible state did put considerable strain on his body which was why he could never stay invisible for very long.

He shook it off and proceeded to enter the third floor hallway. Due to the function of the floor he guessed that there were only a few people there and the staff that worked on this floor only worked during the day and never had a night shift. Convenient for him.

He strolled through the floor making sure to be wary of security cameras. He looked for the room that would best suit his needs and found it right where he figured it to be on the floor plan he looked at earlier. As usual, the door was locked. He turned intangible again and phased through the solid door easily. Inside was the information management center for the entire police force. He turned tangible once again and walked towards the nearest terminal to him.

He sat down and turned it on. The screen came to life with the JCPD's emblem as well as a space to fill in the user name and password. He looked at the screen dumbfounded for a second as if he genuinely forgot that he would've needed a username and password. He lightly slapped himself on the head and reached into his pocket. He took out a palm pilot and hooked it up to the PC. Working the palm pilot, he opened up a special program that hacked into the computer in a manner of seconds and retrieved the last username and password typed in. He gained access.

He smiled to himself. "Well, that was simple. Now…"

He started typing away and looked through the criminal databases. A search engine was brought on screen and the stranger typed in a name. The name started with a "c" and rhymed with the past tense of the word "sing." As the information files, and a series of photographs that went along with it, came up, the strange teen concentrated on the screen.

"Where are you?" he asked to no one in particular. "And do you have any idea what you have unearthed?"

He continued to type away at the computer and scanned the displayed information even more. He looked at profiles, criminal records, and known locations where he has been.

"If you don't…" he said, slightly touching the crucifix hanging from his neck, "well, I doubt even God can help us all…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Hope ya'll had a wonderful holiday season. This'll be my last update for 2006. See ya'll next year!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans…really…

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere, in Professor Chang's new secret hideout.

The large spherical rock was slowly being hauled into another large room. The room was filled with dozens of electronic equipment and multiple computer terminals for supposed monitoring purposes. There were already a bunch of people working on those said terminals when Professor Chang and his other men brought in the large spherical rock that was still on the large tray that was used to carry it. The men who were inside the room stood in respect as Professor Chang himself entered.

"At ease, men," said Chang, pretending to be some officer in the army.

The men pulling the tray moved it to the center of the room. When they knew they were in position, one of the men pressed a button on the try's surface. The result was that the try suddenly sank until it was flat on the floor. The ball bearings beneath it that gave it movement disappeared into the machine itself. This essentially anchored the tray to the floor and with such a heavy cargo, no one was moving it soon.

"Now we can begin the process," said Professor Chang before nodding to one of the men on the computer terminal. The man nodded back and moved to the wall that looked absolutely bare. He pressed a hidden button and the wall suddenly split and opened wide to reveal yet another strange looking contraption that people like Chang seem to be able to conjure up every two minutes. Chang smiled at the machine as a light switch was turned on inside the previously hidden space to reveal what the thing looked like

The machine was essentially a large, long, metal cylinder on a piston operated arm mounted onto a base filled with all sorts of electronics that made it look like a mounted hi-tech cannon of some kind. It looked like a weapon but the design was too impractical that it could never be used in the battlefield. The probe, which was probably the main part of the contraption, had several wires attached to it which were connected to the electronics on its base and several other electronics mounted on the wall.

That showed that the machine was built to stay where it was and serve one single purpose.

Professor Chang moved up next to it. He observed it meticulously, almost admiringly despite the fact that it was his own work. "A key it is that we need…" he said.

He reached into his pocket and took out the small glass canister containing the glowing piece of crystal. "A key it is that we have…"

The henchman captain walked up next to Professor Chang. "Sir, is that from the GeoHammer project?"

"Yes, it is," answered Chang, "It is really a shame that that little project of mine had to fail. I even lost a good partner." As he said this, he grinned a devilishly as if he was humored at his own words like they weren't sincere.

"But it was not a total loss," Chang held up the canister.

He reached up and opened a hatch at the side of the probe where there was a small compartment that looked like it was supposed to contain something. Chang brought up the canister and inserted it onto clamps which he canister fit perfectly. He closed the lid, stepped back, and signaled a man at a computer terminal. The man nodded obediently and took his seat. The man began typing away commands at the keyboard.

Moments later, the machine hissed to life and the very front part of the cylinder opened up to reveal a lens that looked like that of a typical video camera. The lens began to glow a golden hue as an increasingly louder hissing sound started to come from the machine. The lens eventually reached its full brightness and stayed like that.

Nothing else happened.

The henchman captain looked genuinely confused at the machine. He then turned to the large rock which he recovered. There was a circle of golden light that illuminated a small spot on one side of the rock. He looked back at the machine then back at the rock again. In all plainness, the machine was essentially an oversized flashlight shining a light at one spot of the rock. It was hardly even a fraction of the excitement he was expecting.

"Um…sir?" said the captain.

"Intriguing, isn't it," immediately said Chang.

The captain looked about three times as confused as he was a second ago. He kept alternating looks between the rock and the large machine shining a light at it.

"Sir," he called again, "I can't seem to get what's happening here. Our most powerful weapons could not even scratch that rock. What exactly does that machine hope to achieve when--"

"Shhh…" Chang interrupted he captain while pointing his finger towards the rock all of a sudden.

The captain took a long look and not much change had happened. Then, he slowly started to see something happening.

On the surface of the sphere, right where the golden light was shining on it, a small crack appeared. The crack was small, barely noticeable, started to spread into a web. It took a whole two minutes of the crack spreading before a small piece of the rock the size of a pebble cracked off and fell to floor. The captain tipped is head in apparent astonishment. Professor Chang continued to smile satisfyingly.

"And now we wait," said Chang.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Morning, up on the JCPD Headquarters' rooftop.

The young stranger was resting against one of the many air-conditioning motors sitting on top of the roof. He was napping, and after a hard nights work of finding next to nothing, he needed it. In his hand were a bunch of papers. They were printouts of his little research project which he started the night before and continued on for over five hours. By the end of it all he was as understandably tired and frustrated.

He was competent with computers and information technology in general. He had managed to hack into more secure systems than even the JCPD database in the past. While at the computer station or most of the night without anyone else knowing his presence, he managed to scan through the entire JCPD database for his query. When he didn't find anything useful there, he hacked into the server and checked all the databases of neighboring cities, federal authorities, even Interpol. But as persistent as he was, his search forked up less than even substantial progress.

He printed out what he could form what he found but it only amounted to a profile which everyone pretty much already knew. He left the computer terminal and stayed in the roof for most of the night reading through the printouts hoping he could figure this guy out. Unfortunately, Professor Chang was not the easiest man in the world to figure out as he was lead to believe. Eventually he just gave up and decided to call it a night.

He slowly started to wake up. He blinked a couple of times then stretched out both of his arms while giving a long yawn. He rubbed the sand out of his eyes and slowly got up from where he was resting. He brushed his jacket off and started to pace around in order o wake up the rest of his muscles. He was vaguely of the printouts he was holding. He momentarily considered taking another look at them but instead made the mental note to throw them away at the nearest wastebasket he comes across.

He scratched the back of his head, remembering a bit of the frustration he had last night. "Okay," he said, "what to do now…?"

This destination as a complete dead end in his search but that doesn't mean he was done as of then. He still had other places he needed to check which he would hope could possibly yield a bit more success. He figured he should start as soon as he can. He thought about that for a moment, then decided he should start as soon as he can get a cup of coffee to wake him up.

He was considering his options for breakfast when he heard a commotion down below. Curious, he walked to the edge of the rooftop and peered over to get a view of the parking lot below. A bunch of officers were dashing to their patrol cars in an apparent rush.

Up on the roof, the young stranger was getting more curious. "Now what's going on?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Up on the roof of a high-rise building

Robin was standing overlooking the city from atop one of the many sky scrapers that adorned the Jump City skyline. He had spent the most part of last night swinging around the city checking up on all his underground contacts about the possible whereabouts. He had no luck whatsoever. Chang was out of the radar as it seemed. He hoped that his teammates would yield better results than he had. They had the whole of last afternoon but not much of the night. The night was mostly his turf.

He thought about how his teammates would say that he was bordering on crazy the way he goes about his nights without any sleep for the most part of it. For Robin, three to four solid days without sleep is not that big a deal nor was it uncommon and he learned a long time ago to compensate. He was trained by the best, and not just from Gotham either.

But unlike his former guardian, he knew when to stop pushing his body. He learned his limits and learned to rarely challenge them until he was sure he could surpass them. His friends taught him that, but he knew he already knew as much deep in his gut but didn't acknowledge it till much later. You can't do everything. Once he didn't believe it but now he embraced that saying and kept it close to heart. Even though he was taught otherwise by his former guardian, probably because _he_ thought he could do everything.

Robin supposed that that was why he left.

He was the Boy Wonder and the Dark Knight's trusted sidekick. He would swing alongside the great hero himself and stop criminals in the crime ridden streets of Gotham. For a time it was great, it was fun. But it was only brief. The things he thought he loved and worshipped in his guardian suddenly turned around on him all of a sudden. At first he never questioned his orders, his methods, and his resolve. But slowly, as he grew up, he found more and more thing to dislike about the Batman.

As time progressed, Robin saw less and less of the man he once idolized and dreamed of one day becoming. The Batman, once a selfless hero who took care of him like the father he once loved then lost, turned into a hollow shell of a man who refused to let anyone into his own little world. A world that the young Robin will never understand or was simply to afraid to try and understand.

The way the man mercilessly pushed himself night after night for the sake of a city that was beyond one man's saving was almost like a deadly obsession in Robin's eyes. Despite the fact that he was there, Robin felt that the Dark Knight didn't see him there. The Batman still tried his best to do everything by himself, convinced that there was nobody else he could turn to. Robin was determined to try and prove him wrong about that; to prove that there were others around him that he could count on and that cared for him. He tried, and he tried hard. But after long years of trying, Robin was fed up.

Robin left. Rarely did he ever look back on his decision to do so but never did he regret it.

His communicator beeped to life. Robin picked it up on a whim. He answered the all and Starfire's face appeared on the small, round LCD screen.

"Good morning, Robin!" she greeted with her usual morning sunshiny attitude which Robin couldn't help but smaile at.

"Good morning to you too, Star," he replied. "How was your search?"

"I am afraid our search was not as satisfactory as we would have hoped."

Robin let out a soft sigh of exasperation. He felt, still, that he was expecting this to some degree.

"I apologize, Robin," said Starfire.

"No, Star, you don't have to. You did what you could. We'll just have to find other sources. How about Raven and Beats Boy?"

"They have found what could be some of the Professor Chang's new equipment and a curious old photograph. Raven believes it's worth looking at."

"That's great."

"Robin, will you be returning to the tower now? I fear that your lack of sleep may be affecting your health."

Robin didn't look too comfortable at the sudden change of subject. "Uh, sure, Star. But you shouldn't worry about me so much."

Starfire's image in the communicator suddenly filled the whole screen and her eyes filled with maternal concern. "Are you sure?"

A drop of sweat ran down the back of Robin's head. He could distinctly hear, from his communicator, Beast Boy giggling in the background. "Yes, Star, I'm quite fine. I'll be back in the tower as soon as I can."

"Excellent! I shall immediately prepare some of my home made Glorrb right away."

Robin visible cringed and was frantically searching for an excuse. Uh…Starfire, I don't think that would be--"

They were both interrupted when the alarm in Robin's communicator suddenly went off. The two were obviously caught off-guard. Robin's face turned serious as Starfire's suddenly turned from the screen to look at something else in the tower, probably the main computer screen. "What's going on?"

Cyborg's face suddenly field the screen. "There's trouble down at the arena. Looks like the HIVE Five is responsible."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "The HIVE Five?"

"Dude," said Beast Boy in the background, "didn't we kick their butts just the other day? They should've learned their lesson by now!"

"Well," replied Raven in the background, "they are slow learners…"

"Listen, team," said Robin in his authoritative tone, "I'll go on ahead. You guys get there as soon as you can."

"Roger that!" said Cyborg. "Don't start the fun without us!"

The line went dead and Robin pocketed away his communicator. He pulled out his grappling hook and prepared to shoot at the nearest rooftop. "No rest for the wicked," he said to himself. "Just the way I like it."

He shot his grappling hook and swung away.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Jump City Arena.

One of the more popular landmarks of the city, this huge 30,000-seater multipurpose arena has, like New York's Madison Square Garden, been used for all sorts of purposes, from concerts, to major sporting events. With the winter season rolling in, it was about time for some Major League Hockey. The home team, the Jump City Sharks, was aiming to steal the championship away from the reigning champions, the Gotham City Knights. Even in the early morning, sports fans were already forming a mile-long line to watch and cheer for their home team.

But, as fate would have it, things don't exactly go according to plan.

"Look out below!" screamed an exited Mammoth as he playfully tossed an empty station wagon up into the air like it was a piece of crumpled paper.

The people got out of the way as the airborne car came down on hem and crashed into a parked SUV. On the side, mammoth was laughing proudly. Behind him, Gizmo, See-More, Kid Wykkyd, and Billy Numerous was watching and were sitting on another SUV which Mammoth had already crushed a few minutes ago.

"Big guy needs to chill," said See-More.

"Aw, let him have his fun," said Billy Numerous. "Besides, this is a heck of a lot better hockey!"

"I can agree with that," said Gizmo.

Just them, two more Billys walked up to the group, one carrying a very large bucket of popcorn and the other a was carrying about half-a-dozen tumblers filled with soda.

"We got the snacks, Billy!" said the first Billy.

"Thanks, Billy," said the original Billy as he grabbed the popcorn and a tumbler for himself. "Y'all want some?"

The four who were relaxing began to dig in to the impromptu snacks while their largest teammate continued to wreck everything in sight. For his next act, Mammoth ripped off a lamp post right off it's foundation without any trouble whatsoever. He then held it up like a giant hokey stick. The people around Mammoth didn't look to be liking this new turn of events as they started to watch him nervously.

"So you guys like hockey, huh?" said Mammoth, raising the lamppost suggestively. "How's this for a slap shot?"

He swung down the lamppost lick a hockey stick and smacked the side of a compact car sending it shoting across the parking lot, barely missing innocent civilians, and crashing into hotdog stand. Fortunately, the crew of the hotdog stand had long since evacuated it. Mammoth continued on with his gleeful laughing.

"Touchdown!" said one of the Billys.

"No, you dummy," said the other Billy. "It's a _homerun_!"

"Shouldn't them Titans be here by now?" asked Billy Numerous.

The other Billys just shrugged.

"Those snot-munchers are late!" said Gizmo, "what's the point of setting this up if they're not even gonna show?"

Mammoth throws another car into the air with the probable intent of dropping it onto another car on the parking lot. He watched it as it flew through the air and was about to crush another car below it when it suddenly stopped. Mammoth's face turned to dumbfound as he watched the car just hang in mid-air. The rest of the HIVE Five also noticed and looked in that direction while simultaneously stopped eating their snacks.

"What in tarnation?" said Billy Numerous

After a short, tense moment, the car that was in mid-air was suddenly wrapped in a black aura and flew straight into Mammoth's face. Mammoth couldn't react in time and ended up having his whole front smacked and his body quickly driven into the concrete. The rest of the boys watched in surprise as Mammoth was plowed to the ground by something that he threw just a moment ago.

"Somebody called for the Titans?"

The four villains on the sidelines turned to the side toe where the familiar voice came from. As they were expecting, the Teen Titans were gathered some distance away from them on the parking lot. Raven had an outstretched hand which she lowered after a moment. By then, Mammoth had managed to push the car off of him and stand up on his feet to joic his teammates who looked to be getting ready for a fight.

"About time you barf-brains showed up!" exclaimed Gizmo.

"And it's about time," replied Robin, "that you finally learn one last lesson."

Robin reaches into his utility belt and pulls out his bo-staff. With a flick of the wrist, the weapon extended to its full length. Robin got into a ready pose and the rest of his team followed suit. "Crime doesn't pay!"

"Words are cheap, man," said See-More. "Unless you're all squawk and no peck, better do something to make things interesting."

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "you're so asking for it."

"Let's do this already!" said Gizmo. "HIVE Five, take 'em down!"

The HIVE Five charged at the Titans with all the ferocity tey could muster. The Titans were undeterred and prepared to put up as good a fight as they could afford. "Titans, Go!" exclaimed Robin.

The Titans charged in and the two groups met in the middle in a violent clash. A clash so violent that the two groups, and all their individual members, were literally repelled from one another. Maybe it was the combination of Starfire's starbolts, Raven's magic, See-More's laser vision, and Gizmo's blasters all converging in a rapidly compressing space. Whatever it maybe, ten costumed superheroes and villains were now strew across the parking lot.

Beast Boy was the first of the Titans to get up. He rubbed a few sore spots from the landing. "Well that was uncalled for," he said.

He heard a sound of thunder and turned to look. He saw Mammoth was charging at him with all the grace and finesse of a runaway locomotive. Beast Boy went wide eyed and reacted as in the first method he could think of. He transformed into a humming bird and shot straight up into the air in order to avoid Mammoth who passed right below Beast Boy.

Mammoth skidded to a halt and turned around to look up at the green humming bird. Mammoth growled at Beast Boy. The airborne changeling responded to that little threat by hovering right above Mammoth then transforming into a large silverback gorilla with its fists bearing down on Mammoth like a pair of primal hammers. Mammoth was not totally caught off-guard by this maneuver and managed to raise both his arms above his head to block.

As the large green primate crashed down on him, Mammoth successfully prevented Beast Boy's arms from pounding him to the ground and successively pushed Beast Boy off of him. Beast Boy was shot back into the air then landed back in his normal form.

"Hah!" exclaimed Mammoth. "That the best you got? Nothing is stronger than the Mammoth!"

Beast Boy grinned. "If you say so, dude."

With that, Beast Boy, ironically enough, transformed into a very large wholly mammoth. Mammoth, the human one, looked a bit surprised. Beast Boy let out a loud trumpet before charging at Mammoth with his new, massive pair of tusks. Mammoth managed to catch the tusks I his grip and did his best to stop Beast Boy's charge. They then went into what was the quintessential opposite of a tug-o-war, Beast Boy determined to make Mammoth eat his words.

Meanwhile, Starfire was flying around at low altitude avoiding several attempts to shoot her from See-More and his pesky laser vision. See-More was having a hard time hitting Starfire simply because of her speed. She was a lot faster than he remembered her to be. But then again, the last time he saw her she was wearing a sweater ten sizes to big for her. See-More mostly stayed in on one spot, moving only when Starfire found openings to fire back at him.

"It would do you well to surrender, villain!" exclaimed Starfire, throwing another starbolt at See-More.

"Or else what?" challenged See-More as he continued firing blasts of lasers from his eye. He somehow ended up standing next to a lamppost when he evaded Starfire's last attack.

Starfire noted that little fact and shot at See-More with her own laser vision. It was aimed high at see-more so his natural method of evading it was to duck. The green beam of energy missed the top of his head by a fairly large margin. See-More stood back to full height and faced Starfire.

"Hah!" exclaimed See-More. "You missed me!"

Starfire simply hovered near the ground a few yards away from See-More. The boy villain thought this was a little strange until he heard a sound of metal bending. He looked behind him in time to see the lamppost he was standing next to topple over and conk him in the head. He was out in an instant.

Starfire smiled proudly. "How do you like those avocados?"

"_Apples_, Starfire," said Raven as she floated a short distance behind Starfire. "The expression goes "How do you like them apples?" But good try though…I guess…"

Starfire turned towards Raven to greet her. As she did, her expression changed all of a sudden. Starfire didn't hesitate to throw a powerful starbolt in raven's direction. The starbolt missed the very startled Raven by mere inches but managed to hit Kid Wykkyd squarely on the chest. The dark villain somehow managed to sneak behind Raven and prepared to strike at her but was interrupted by Starfire's most recent starbolt. Kid Wykkyd landed on his back, stunned by the blast.

Raven turned to where Kid Wykkyd fell then back at Starfire who was beaming an apologizing smile. "Thanks Starfire."

Starfire was about to respond when Raven suddenly thrust her hand forward and shot out a bolt of black energy which barely missed a very startle Starfire but managed to zap a recently recovered See-More. See-More was just about to blast Starfire from behind with one of his eye beams when Raven acted quickly and sent the villain with the big eye back into unconsciousness.

Starfire turned to the again unconscious See-More then nervously back at Raven who was smiling wickedly. "Uh…likewise, I'm sure."

Meanwhile, Robin and Cyborg were taking on Gizmo and Billy Numerous respectively. Cyborg was doing his best to fend off Billy's multiple attempts at piling on him along with several of his copies. Robin, in the meantime, was holding his own against Gizmo and the four mechanical legs protruding from his backpack. Gizmo was using the two front mechanical legs as improvised spears, trying to impale Robin with every thrust. Robin kept blocking with his bo-staff.

Gizmo thrust both of the front legs simultaneously, hoping to catch Robin off-guard. Unfortunately for the villain, Robin even managed to block that by ducking low and raising his bo-staff up high to block. Robin pushed off Gizmo's mechanical legs which forced Gizmo to stumble back.

Robin did some fancy twirling of his staff much to the annoyance of Gizmo. "You got any better tricks than that, Gizmo?"

"I'll show you!" exclaimed Gizmo as he thrust both of his front mechanical limbs forward like a giant pair of pincers. Robin, anticipating this move, rushed forward and drove one end of his bo-staff to the ground effectively pole-vaulting himself over Gizmo. Robin leapt high over the surprised Gizmo and landed just behind the evil boy genius.

Wasting no time, Robin reached into his utility belt and grabbed a long line of grappling cable being fed from his belt buckle. He attached one end to a birdarang and quickly threw the projectile with its trailing grappling line at Gizmo. The birdarang flew at an angle and wrapped the grappling cable around the four mechanical legs several times before hooking itself onto Gizmo's metal harness.

"Hey!" exclaimed Gizmo as he desperately attempted to reach the cable that has effectively disabled his mechanical legs and prevented him from using anything else in his backpack. "What's the big idea?"

Robin grinned wryly as he folded his bo-staff into his utility belt and retrieved his grappling gun, all the while holding onto the line that wrapped around Gizmo with one hand. He shot his other grappling cable up towards a very tall lamppost, one of many that strewn the parking lot. After the grappling hook was secured at the top of lamppost, Robin reeled himself up while still holding to the other line.

Gizmo looked up. "Hey, what are you—aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Gizmo was reeled all the way up the lamppost and stopped half-way up when Robin himself reached the top. Once there Robin proceeded to securely tie the line that was holding Gizmo to the top of the lamppost. Once satisfied, Robin slid down the lamppost, leaving Gizmo, quite literally, hanging. As Robin reached the bottom and proceeded to help his friends, Gizmo found enough energy in him to throw Robin a whole dictionary's worth of pre-pubescent pseudo-curses, all of which were ignored by the boy wonder.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was finding himself surrounded by several Billys who were all evilly smirking at Cyborg. "Any last words?" asked all the Billys simultaneously.

Cyborg grinned. "Yeah, just one…"

The Billys charged at Cyborg all at the same time. Cyborg was ready for this and immediately transformed both his arms into sonic cannons and jabbing them into the ground while simultaneously firing a large blast of sonic energy. The result was a huge, high-frequency shockwave that exploded in the immediate area around Cyborg. All the Billys were consequently blown away and stunned by the sudden blast of sonic energy and because of the high frequency of the wave it only traveled just over twenty yards, leaving most of the parking lot unharmed. Billy Numerous was stunned by the impact which caused all of his copies to revert back to the original.

Cyborg rose back to his feet. "Booyah!"

He started to hear cheering around him, He looked to the side and saw that a small crowd of people have formed a parameter around the Titans at a reasonable distance away. They were all cheering for them, a sentiment Cyborg couldn't help but smile at. He waved to the crowed before promptly going off to help his teammates. He didn't notice among the cheering crowd that the young stranger from the police headquarters was standing in the middle of the crowd and was watching intently at the happenings.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

"Aren't the Titans the coolest?" said a kid.

The young stranger looked down and noticed that the question was projected to him. He nodded at the kid who was looking up at his with a huge smile and he smiled empathetically. "They sure are…"

The kid turned back to the action and so did the stranger. "So…these are the Teen Titans…"

As the action continued at one part of the battlefield, the stranger noted that the one called Gizmo was talking into a small communicator of some kind. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He was starting o get that feeling that things weren't right.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

"We're getting beat over here!" said Gizmo into his HIVE communicator, still hanging from the lamppost. "Isn't it about time you made your move?"

"I understand, my friend," said a female voice from the other line. "It's time for the real show to begin."

In the meantime Mammoth was having trouble with Beast Boy's latest incarnation: a spider monkey. The changeling was all over Mammoth in a rather annoying way. As a nimble spider monkey, Beast Boy climbed up and down Mammoth's hide while avoiding Mammoth's ever failing attempt to grab at him with his large muscular arms.

"Why you little—come 'ere, I'll—dah—when I get my hands on you—argh!" Mammoth was having no luck at all. "Stay still you little runt!"

Beast Boy complied when he reached the top of Mammoth's head and hung his face down so that he was upside down and looking into Mammoth's face. Mammoth was on the verge of loosing his mind and did the first thing he could think off. He took a fist and tried to hit the little green monkey with it. Unfortunately that little green monkey had jumped away at the last possible second and all the fist ended up hitting was its owner's face. Mammoth was instantly floor.

Beast Boy stood a few feet away, back in his elfin form. "The bigger they are, the harder they hit themselves in the face."

Behind him the rest of the Titans gathered. "Good job, little man," said Cyborg with a thumbs up.

"What do you say we wrap this up already?" asked Beast Boy.

"I couldn't agree more," said Starfire.

That's what you think," said See-More, now recovered, as he walked up next to the recovering Mammoth. "This is far from over."

Kid Wykkyd and Billy Numerous joined him soon after, Mammoth himself was slowly recovering. Gizmo was still hanging by the lamppost in the back ground and her was visually and verbally not happy about it. The Titans however didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"Dudes, just get it through your thick heads, already," said Beast Boy. "We're the Teen Titans and there's no way you guys can--"

He stopped in mid-speech as if he lost his voice all of a sudden and gave a pained expression. Beast Boy shook his head once or twice, groaning slightly. The rest of the Titans noticed and looked on worriedly. The HIVE Five members however grinned devilishly. Beast Boy clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

"Beast Boy?" inquired Robin worriedly.

Raven was looking on at Beast Boy worriedly as well when realization struck her. "Oh no…not again…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere…

Beast Boy finally opens his eyes and sees tat he is not where he remembered being in. Yet the place was strangely familiar. It wasn't long until it hit him. The place where he was standing in the middle of was the Paris headquarters of the Brotherhood of Evil. The same headquarters he and the other Titans destroyed long ago but for some reason he couldn't register that memory. He also couldn't register the means of how he got there but that didn't seem to matter either. The only thing that mattered was the here and now. Beast Boy couldn't care less about anything else. He found that strange as well but didn't care to ponder on it.

"Welcome back, boy."

That long monotonous mechanical voice was something Beast Boy immediately recognized. He turned around and saw The Brain, all four-an-a-half of him. Next to him stood Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rouge, and General Immortus.

"You guys!" exclaimed Beast Boy in obvious anger. "What have you done to my friends."

Madame rouge pointed a finger to the side. "Have a look for yourself."

Beast Boy looked to where she was pointing and got his answer. He gasped as he saw that the rest of the Titans were frozen statues on display like before. With hter last moment before freezing perfectly preserved, Beast Boy could tell that they went through some agony before finally ending up in such a state. This practically drove Beast Boy over the edge.

He turned back to his long-time enemies and growled at them. "Let them go!"

"Not until you give us what we want," said Monsieur Mallah.

"What?"

"You are harboring someone we want," said General Immortus. A man who betrayed us. A man we want to punish. You know where e is don't you. We know you do."

Beast Boy was getting angrier. "What are you talking about?"

"You can have your friends back," said the Brain, "once you give us the information we want."

Madame Rouge stepped forward. "Doesn't that sound simple? Now are you gong to be a good boy and give us what we want?"

Beast Boy lost it. "I ain't giving you squat!"

Beast Boy transformed into a tiger and lunged at Madame Rouge.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Beast Boy transformed into a tiger and lunged at Raven.

The dark magical girl evaded at the last second and Beast Boy missed rippeng her apart with his sharp feline claws. Raven floated away to a reasonable distance and inspected herself. Fortunately, she was unhurt but quite annoyed at what almost hurt her. She looked up at Beast Boy who seemed to be preparing himself for another lunge attack. Raven stood her ground as best she can.

"If I didn't know you were being hypnotized," said Raven, "I would be really angry at you right now."

Beast Boy inched closer and raven raised a hand that was charged with black magic. Raven didn't want to hurt Beast Boy but she was beginning to have less of a choice in the matter. To the side, the other three remaining Titans watched their friends go into danger.

"Yo, BB, snap out of it!" exclaimed Cyborg while stepping in front of the others.

Beast Boy turned his attention to him and transformed into a grizzly bear. The green bear charged at Cyborg and tackled him down to the ground. Cyborg found himself trying to push away a huge bear with very sharp teeth bearing down on him slowly. Cyborg felt he had no choice but to be a little more offensive.

"I'm sorry 'bout this man," he said. Cyborg then head-butted Beast Boy right as their heads went within centimeters from one another. Momentarily stunning the bear, Cyborg took this opportunity to push Beast Boy off of him. Beast Boy rolled on his back for a short distance before returning to his elfin form The changeling got up to his feet soon enough only to confront Robin.

"Beast Boy, listen to me," said Robin. "It's all an illusion. Snap out of it!"

"I don't care how many times you ask me, Brain," said Beast Boy. "We don't know where Professor Chang is!"

Robin was caught by surprise. "What?"

"And even if we did, I wouldn't tell you!"

Beast Boy transformed into a wolf and charged at Robin.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Over by the crowds, the young stranger stared suspiciously at the rather ominous turn of events. Around him the crowd was raving with questions and accusation. They couldn't believe what was happening and the stranger couldn't blame them. If he hadn't known better, he too would find this more stranger than it was. Already he was trying to come up with the most likely theories on what could be causing this behavior. It hit him once he got a good look at Beast Boy's eyes.

"What's wrong with Beast Boy?" asked the kid next to him. "He's gone totally crazy!"

"Did he loose his mind or something?" asked someone from behind.

"Maybe he did loose his mind!" said the kid.

The young stranger looked skeptical. "More likely his mind is being fooled."

The kid looked up at the stranger. "What do you mean?"

"Look at his eyes."

The kid did so. He got a good glimpse of Beast Boy's eyes when he was suddenly forced back by Starfire after he tried to attack her in his wolf form. Beast Boy's eyes did look a bit stranger. The kid couldn't describe it exactly but the best thing he could think to comment was that they looked more fidgety than usual.

"His eyes are trying to see what's real," continued the stranger, "but what he sees in his mind is something completely different. Even though the eyes are trying to discern what's real and what's false, it doesn't matter when the mind is completely immersed in another reality. His true sight is being blocked by an illusion that only he can see."

"B-But, how's that be possible?"

The stranger looked around some more. He noticed Gizmo being helped down the lamppost by Kid Wykkyd. The dwarf of a villain was still talking into his communicator. He noticed that, as Gizmo was let down on the ground, the boy genius was looking up at something. The stranger followed the boy's line of sight and saw that he was looking up a window on the top floor of the arena. He could barely make out a figure standing at the window.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "How indeed…?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

As the Titans are plague with an out of control Beast Boy, the HIVE Five have gathered with Gizmo now untangled. They watched intently at the happenings that were going on. Beast Boy was still attacking his teammates and kept proclaiming that he didn't know where a certain someone was.

"This isn't working," said Gizmo. "If he really did know something, the crud-picker would've squealed by now."

"Maybe he's just coverin'" suggested Billy Numerous.

"No, Gizmo is right," said the female voice on the other line. "When the changeling said what he said, he was being sincere."

"You can tell?"

"When I'm tapping into his mind when I use my powers, I am able to identify certain emotions of my victim. It's not exactly mind-reading but some emotions are clear enough to identify, like the fear I often induce with my illusions."

"So this was just a waste of time?" asked See-More.

"I believe so, my friends."

"Crud!" exclaimed Gizmo. "Now what?"

"We leave and explore other means of acquiring what we want. You boys know the escape plan, yes? Do it now."

"Got it!"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Up on the top floor of the Arena

On the top floor there was a VIP lounge that looked over the arena floor below that was reserved for the more prestige spectators on the multiple events that happen in The Jump City Arena. It had all the furnishings one would expect from such a place: shag carpeting, plush walls, custom lighting and other such features. There was a private bar and multiple stylish tables. Usually, this lounge would hold around a hundred or so people.

For the moment, it was only occupied by one.

Fallacy was sitting on one of the bar stools. She was pocketing away her HIVE communicator. Sh let out a long sigh of exasperation.

"Do not be so disappointed," she said to herself. "There are plenty of other options yet. This is far from the end of the road."

She got up from her stool and began to walk to the exit. "This plan may have failed but this only a small milestone for our mission. Once we have what we require, that traitor will have what he deserves."

"Really? Care to elaborate?"

Fallacy went wide-eyed and did a very quick one-eighty at the sudden voice that emanated from behind her. From out of nowhere, the young stranger in the white jacket decided to make himself known.

"So, I was right," he said. "Those guys had some kind of spellbinder on their side. I'm betting that would be you. You were the one who was feeding the Titan an illusion weren't you?"

Fallacy relaxed her stance a bit. "Are you with them? The Titans?"

"No, I'm just a curious observer."

Fallacy raised an eye in curiosity. "Observer, you say? Anything particular that involves us in your interests?"

The stranger narrowed his eyes. "What do you want with Professor Chang?"

Fallacy looked even more serious. "…What are you exactly. And who are you?"

"I can't give you my real name…simply because I have no idea what it is…but those who know me and those who face me call me _Watcher_."

"Watcher? You should be careful with a name like that. People might think ill of your intentions…especially the more feminine folk."

"If you must know what I do, well like I said, I'm just an onlooker for the most part. Whenever there is something amiss in the world, I'm usually sent there. I act as a sentry, monitoring the situation, becoming a witness. Usually, things end up fine, but ever now and then…sometimes the observer can no longer sit back and watch…sometimes I'm forced to actually intervene.

"Intervene you say?" Fallacy gave a slight chuckle towards Watcher. "…You shall try."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Felt kinda guilty that the last two chapters didn't have much action. So I decided to put as much as I can in this one but making sure it wasn't too long a chapter and that I had enough to spare for the next one. More action will be had when I update. Until then, Pls. R&R! I love all your reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Titans…quit asking!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

On the parking lot in front of the Jump City Arena.

The four Titans, Robin, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg, were slowly backing away but keeping guard as Beast Boy, in the form of a lion, was threateningly approaching them, fangs bearing. The Titans didn't want to hurt their friend but they were getting less and less of a choice by the minute. Beast Boy is often underestimated by both his enemies and his friends but during the tightest situations he has been know to display amazing prowess beyond what most would expect from him.

Right then the team wished that prowess was focused on something else besides their necks.

"We have to do something," said Cyborg, "or else BB is gonna have us for brunch."

"We don't want to harm him," said Robin.

"Speak for yourself," said Raven. "Look at what he did to my attire." She was referring to a large tear on her cloak that Beast Boy's lion form delivered her right after he called her by the name of Madame Rouge. Raven found that strange for a moment then remembered the boy's situation.

"Is there not a way," said Starfire, "for us to somehow relive the illusion from his mind? Raven?"

"I can't do anything unless I know exactly how he's being affected and by who. Our only hope is to knock him out cold or wait until the person doing this will somehow--"

All of a sudden, the green lion that was approaching them stopped and cringed as if something struck him but nothing did in fact actually hit him. The lion began shaking his head around in apparent discomfort. The Titans stared curiously but still kept their guard up. Eventually the lion transformed back into Beast Boy's elfin self.

Beast Boy stood in a slumped posture as if in a daze. He shook his head then brought a hand up to slap some consciousness back. "Wha-What happened?"

"Beast Boy?" asked Raven. "Is that really you now?"

Beast Boy rubbed his noggin and took a few deep breaths. "Dude, what have I been up to? I thought I was…I don't know what came over me."

The Titans started relaxing knowing the danger was over.

"If anything it was probably our mysterious spellbinder," said Raven as she hovered near him.

Beast Boy looked around to make sure that he was finally back in reality. Upon doing so, he noticed a disturbing fact. "Where's the HIVE dudes?"

"I am afraid they have escaped," said Starfire.

"They managed to get away while _you_ were keeping _us_ busy, BB," said Cyborg.

"Oh…"said Beast Boy. "Sorry…"

Raven sighed exasperatingly. "Don't be. If it was the same thing that happened to Starfire, then you had absolutely no control over what you saw. You were probably doing the right thing from your perspective. The problem is that something was messing with that perspective."

"Well, at least no-one got hurt seriously, man," said Cyborg. "Wouldn't you say so, Rob? Rob?"

Robin wasn't listening. He was deep in thought. This lack of response prompted the rest of the team to turn in his direction.

"Is there something a matter, Robin?" asked Starfire.

Robin looked up at his team. "Why would the HIVE Five be looking for Professor Chang?"

This question took the rest of the team a bit off-guard. They didn't have the answer and Robin never intended for any of them to have an answer. The question was not so much as rhetorical but he knew there wasn't an answer he could provide just yet. It was a detective's question, the kind that a person asks then finds the answer for himself by any means necessary. Robin wanted to do just that.

"Beast Boy was being questioned about the whereabouts of Chang," continued Robin. "Even if it was an illusion it was still an interrogation."

"But we don't know where Chang is," said Cyborg. "Heck, _we're_ looking for him."

"And so are the HIVE Five. But what are the chances they're doing it for the same reason as us?"

"Next to nil," said Raven.

"Dude, I think I can agree," said Beast Boy.

"So how do we find out their intentions?" asked Starfire.

"We question them," said Robin. "But we have to catch them first."

"Easier said than done, man," said Cyborg. "Ever since they setup shop in their new location—wherever that may be—we haven't been able to track them."

"We find them somehow. Or at least, we find Chang first. If they get their hands on him who knows what they'll do to him."

At that moment, Raven gave a brief but sudden groan. The others didn't hear it. But the one closest to her, Beast Boy, was able to hear it. It drew his concern. He saw that she had her palm to her head. She looked to be trying to focus on something.

"Something wrong, Rae?" asked Beast Boy.

The others heard this and turned their attention to the two.

"I sense something," said Raven. Slowly, she lifted her head and started to look up at the Arena, particularly the top floor where the VIP lounge would be.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

"In the Jump City Arena's VIP lounge.

"What exactly are your intentions involving Professor Chang?" asked Watcher, facing down Fallacy.

"I could ask you the same question," she replied unperturbed by his interrogating tone. Truthfully though, Fallacy was playing it cautious.

She had good reason to be cautious. Back in the day, the only person who was actually able to sneak up on her was Brother Blood himself, her former mentor and idol. Her psychic abilities as a spellbinder allowed her a limited emphatic sense that allowed her to immediately sense a presence of a persons mind whenever they got close to her. Usually she could detect a person up to a few dozen meters away. But the fact that this guy could walk up to her be fore she even notices him was a great feat the way she saw it. It was worth worrying about on her part.

"Answer the question, lady."

"Oh, is that any way o ask a lady in proper?" Fallacy asked while posing in a way that would indicate that she was offended. She did it in such a way that one hand was under her chin and the other travel behind her back. The hand behind her back was doing more than she wanted Watcher to know about.

"You aren't exactly my definition of a proper lady miss…"

"Fallacy," she said with a coy smile. Her hand was reaching into a small pack that was attached to the lower back part of her bodysuit and it slowly pulled something out.

Fallacy thought that Watcher didn't notice. But of course he did. He lived up to his namesake, noticing every little detail. He knew that she was about to pull something out but still wasn't quite sure. But through his experience he is able to come up with a few possible answers already. He was already preparing himself for any evasive action he would need to do. He knew he could always simply turn intangible, but he seldom ever did it on a first meeting. That little ability of his was his trump card. And experience has taught him that the less an enemy knows about you the better.

"Are you going to tell what you want with the guy," continued Watcher, "or just continue to beat around the bush?"

Fallacy grinned wryly. "Well maybe I should be more to the point."

In a sudden flash of movement, Fallacy pulled out a small metal object from behind her back and hurled it at Watcher at lightning speeds. Watcher already had his eye on it as soon as it went airborne and he quickly side-stepped to one side, evading the projectile. It barely missed him. He reacted slower than he had hoped as something distracted him but he still managed to avoid getting hit. He thought he had evaded it completely, but that was when he saw the rope attached to the projectile. He saw that rope go taut and instinctively ducked as the projectile came flying back at him. It missed and headed straight for Fallacy who didn't look the least bit worried.

With both her hands on the rope, she let the thing flew past her to her back and used some fancy handy work to expertly twirl the roped weapon around her body. Watcher tried following the weapon's movement but found something to be distracting him. Then, without prior warning, Fallacy let go of the rope at the proper moment propelling the projectile once again at Watcher's direction. The added momentum from the spin made the weapon faster in flight this time and Watcher, again somehow distracted by the something attached to the weapon, couldn't follow completely the flight path of whatever was coming at him.

Watcher reacted in the best way he could think of. He launched himself into the air with a powerful kick off the ground from his feet and barrel rolled in mid-air. The projectile flew smoothly below him and barely missed his foot as it came up. While the projectile missed Watcher, it did manage to cut the table behind him right in half. The table broke apart as if a cannon was fired at it.

Watcher landed in a crouch just a little ways to the side of the weapon's flight path. He watched it as it returned to its wielder like the last time. When it did, Fallacy relaxed her stance and the weapon went limp in her hands.

"You're faster than I thought," said Fallacy, getting into another ready stance.

Watcher slowly stood up, keeping an eye on his enemy. It was only then that Watcher could get a good look at the weapon and finally identified it. The weapon she wielded was a Chinese rope dart. It was an ancient weapon in China that combined the long range and piercing power of a spear and the flexibility of a soft whip. A weapon that was hard to master but when used properly became extremely lethal to any opponent.

Watcher noted that the weapon wasn't exactly traditional in design. The things he didn't immediately find out about the weapon were the things that made it a modern version of its ancient predecessor. The rope was made out of thick Kevlar weaves making unbreakable by common small arms and blades and the rope was coated with a non-stick material to minimize friction. The bright red tassel at the end of the rope was made out of synthetic nylon instead of traditional horse hair. This dart was a compound construction with an inner core made out of a heavier lead material covered by a titanium outer shell. The dart still kept the basic conical shape but there were deep groves that ran the length of the cone that allowed for better airflow around the dart making it more accurate as well as increasing its speed. The added weight gave it more inertia and thus more impact. All in all, the weapon was significantly more lethal than its ancient counterpart.

"I suppose you should have some skill," said Fallacy. "After all, you are only the second person to ever sneak up on me. No one has ever evaded my senses that well before except for one man."

"I'm flattered," said Watcher in obvious sarcasm.

"I would surmise that you have your own interest on the man named Professor Chang. However, I do not believe our objectives regarding him are entirely mutual."

"I would think so."

"If that is truly the case then you are no more than an obstruction to the goal of me and my comrades. And where I come from, they teach us only one thing to do with obstructions."

Fallacy did some fancy twirling of her rope dart making sure that the dart gained a significant amount of speed before she decided to let it loose on Watcher. The boy had barely enough time to jump to the side and dodge the flying piece of metal as his eyes couldn't follow it easily enough. Te dart missed him but it managed to punch a rather large hole on the back of a chair. As the dart flew back at Fallacy, Watcher decided to take a few steps back to give himself a little more distance from her so that he could have a slightly easier time handling her attacks.

The problem Watcher had was that he had a hard time keeping track of the dart. This was largely due to the tassel attached to the dart. Most people think that the tassels in ancient Chinese weapons were only decoration but they actually had a functional purpose. In the case of a rope dart, the tassel provides a visual distraction so that the opponent looses track of the dart as it flew through the air. This usually caused the opponent to momentarily hesitate and that slight moment is often a fatal mistake.

Watcher knew enough about the mechanics of the weapon to know that his best move at the moment was to continue to maintain a good distance from her to give himself a better reaction time and to give her less accuracy. Fallacy was undaunted by this strategy. She knew she could easily end this with a little spellbinding trick but where was the fun in that? She'll toy around with him a bit more until he gets tired.

Fallacy twirled the rope dart around her then suddenly let loose once again. Watcher had been waiting for it this time. Timing his moves perfectly, he slightly crouched just before Fallacy threw the dart in his direction. When the dart was airborne, Watcher used his legs to spring himself up into the air into a somersault. By the time, Fallacy missed and was pulling the dart back, Watcher had already landed on top of a nearby table and was slightly closer to her now. Fallacy spun her entire body and used the remaining momentum in the dart to hurl it in a new direction, straight towards Watcher. The boy already saw this coming and was already leaping away from the table and twisting through the air by the time the dart started flying straight at it. A chunk of the table was destroyed by the heavy dart.

By the time Fallacy was again pulling back the dart, Watcher was suddenly standing behind her after having just landed just a few feet from her. They both had their backs to each other at that point. Fallacy was able to sense his presence there and grabbed at the rope only a few inches from the dart and used it as an improvised mace of sorts. She swung the short length of rope with the dart as she spun backward to face her enemy.

Watcher could sense the rope coming and ducked appropriately as the rope swung out to where his head would've been if he had been standing up straight. Fallacy continued to hold the rope at that short length and continuously swing it randomly at Watcher's direction. Watcher did a pretty good job of evading all those swings and he knew at such a close range that she couldn't use the full length of the weapon which gave him an edge.

At one point, when Fallacy swung the dart at him, Watcher managed to grab the thing in mid-air and hang onto it. Fallacy was caught off guar as the rope was pulled from her grip as Watcher jumped backwards with the dart and some rope in hand. Fallacy felt the rope slipping from her grasp and immediately gripped the rope as hard as she can before Watcher got any further away. The rope went rigid as the two fighters pulled it to its limit without letting go. They were about three ten feet away from each other and neither of the two refused to let go of their end of the rope.

"You're a persistent one," said Fallacy.

"Only when I'm on a job," replied Watcher almost modestly.

"What do you want with the old man? Why are you after him? What does he man to you? Tell me!"

"You first!"

"…You really don't plan on making this easy for me, do you?"

Watcher gave a wry smile. "I always play hard to get…"

Fallacy gave her own little wry smile. "If you must…"

Watcher blinked as he thought something got into his eye. His vision was suddenly blurring and a little part of his head was starting to ache pretty badly. He had to close his eyes for a moment but when he opened them, things became a little stranger. He looked around. Something was happening to his surroundings that were truly strange, even in his experience.

The floor started to deform and huge globs of the floor started to float up like a wax liquid of some kind up into the ceiling. Similarly blobs of the ceiling deformed and started to float down, like the same thing he saw in lava lamps. He felt as if his footing was getting less and less stable by the moment. He felt as he he were about to throw up.

Back in reality, Fallacy wore an amused expression on her face as Watcher tipped from side to side, constantly loosing his footing and nearly tipping off like a drunk. Watcher eventually let go of his end of the rope and Fallacy slowly, almost casually, pulled the dart back towards her side. Watcher was trying to look at her, she could see that, and he was having very little success at it. Fallacy laughed at his misfortune.

"Susceptible," she said, "just like everyone else. You cannot escape the influence of my powers. And once they have a hold of you, you are as good as gone. You will meet the same fate as that of so many who have fallen before me."

Watcher struggled to stay standing. He was running out of options. He knew that he could do only one thing to avoid almost certain demise. He had no choice.

"Now," continued Fallacy, "let us see how much you bleed, oh humble observer."

She twirled her rope dart around a bit the shot it straight towards Watcher's skull. But when the dart finally reached Watcher's face, it suddenly found nothing to hit. Watcher had suddenly turned into his ghostly intangible form and the dart harmlessly passed right through his skull even on its way back to Fallacy as she pulled it back towards her. She stood there holding her weapon at the ready. Something was wrong, she knew that much. For some reason her spellbinding was cut off and she could no longer reach his mind. She couldn't explain it.

Watcher returned to his tangible self. "Maybe I'm not as susceptible as you think."

Fallacy got ready with her rope dart once again. Watcher simply rushed at her. Fallacy shot the dart again towards her opponent's skull but as soon as she did, Watcher turned intangible again and the dart passed through him. As the dart was flying back towards Fallacy, Watcher returned to his tangible form and charged at Fallacy. The spellbinder noticed and grabbed the rope only a short length from the dart and again used the weapon as a makeshift nunchucku.

As Watcher neared, she swung out her shortened weapon at him only for him to stop and evade it by side-stepping. She continued to constantly swing at Watcher who simply evaded without actually having the need to turn intangible. He could clearly see that Fallacy was not used to fighting at such a close distance He analyzed her and could figure out that Fallacy was one of those people who like to keep their opponents at bay. This philosophy probably stemmed from her powers and prompted her to choose the rope dart as a weapon of choice. The only problem with this fighting style is when someone got really close.

Fallacy swung horizontally and Watcher crouched low to the ground to evade. Fallacy twirled the shortened rope dart about then brought it down with a great deal of momentum onto Watcher's crouching form. Before the dart could bash the top of his head, Watcher quickly turned intangible and let the dart pass right through him on its way down. The dart ended up embedding itself onto the floor and gut stuck. Fallacy was not able to pull it out as quickly enough as she wanted to. Watcher quickly grabbed at the rop and pulled it away from her grip.

Fallacy started back off a bit, leaving her rope dart on the floor. Watcher kept advancing on her making sure she doesn't get any room. Fallacy through a desperate right hook only for it to be blocked by Watcher in his own hand. Fallacy started to throw a flurry of jabs and punches at Watcher with her almost basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. Watcher was a lot more adept in this type of combat and therefore had the upper hand at such a close range.

Fallacy threw one lest jab and Watcher found an opportunity in it. He grabbed her arm in as it flew towards him and used it as leverage to spin around her body so that she had her back to him. He them pinned the one arm that he was already holding behind her back, grabbed the other one, and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"You know, I'd love to do this all day," said Watcher, "but really, even I have a schedule to keep. Just answer my questions and tell me what you know."

Fallacy found herself in a very uncomfortable position. If there was one thing she hated the most in her whole existence was being held down. More so she hated it when it was being done by a boy. "Let me go…let me GO!"

Watcher suddenly felt a large burst of psychic energy suddenly flood the room. He felt that his mind was about to explode. He immediately turned intangible as he pushed himself away from Fallacy and safely floated away to the side.

Fallacy managed to calm down. She took pride in her composure and she wasn't about o loose it in front of a stranger even though that stranger managed to get the best of her. She let her breathing slowed and turned to face her adversary. She found him standing a good distance away still in his intangible form. She was surprised that he was still conscious, let alone still standing. She figured it must have been his powers. The protected him a lot better than she had thought. She calmly moved to where her rope dart was stuck to the floor and bent down to pick it up. Watcher never took his ghostly translucent eyes off of her.

"I see," said Fallacy as she pulled the rope dart off the floor. "That ghostly form of your also allows you to evade even psychic influences. No wonder I keep loosing track of your mind when you do that. As long as you are in that form, I cannot reach you. But you cannot reach me either can you?"

Watcher turned tangible and threw Fallacy a slight grin. "So you figured little ol' me out, huh?"

"That intangible form of yours may allow you to avoid both physical and mental attacks directed towards you bu the drawback is that you can't throw any of your own. Your powers are strictly defensive."

"Well I was never really the kind of guy who threw the first punch."

"Indeed. But that is your weakness. What can you possibly hope to accomplish on the battle field if you do not intend to strike down you opponent? That is your weak point. That is the reason why you will fail. You will fall by my power yet."

"Don't be so sure. In my experience it's never over until the fat lady sings."

"If so then consider this the encore."

Fallacy stood ready with her rope dart, Watcher tensed up to prepare himself for any form of attack. As the tension in the room mounted, neither of the two was able to prepare for what cam next.

To the side, the doors to the VIP lounge burst open and in came rushing were the ever popular Teen Titans. Both Fallacy and Watcher immediately turned their heads to the side and saw the five teenage heroes enter the room. Similarly the Titans eyed the two combatants rather curiously. For a while nobody moved and nobody said anything. After a long and tense silence, Beast Boy was the first, as usual, to break it.

"…uh…Freeze!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Everyone slowly turned and stared at him. A nervous drop of sweat ran down Beast Boy's head. "Well…better late than never, right?"

The group gave a barely audible groan as they turned back to the two strangers in the middle of the lounge. The Titans all got into ready positions. "All right," said Robin, "two simple questions. Who are you two and what are you doing here?"

Fallacy's face tightened quite a bit out of her frustration at the turn of events. Watcher turned to the Titans and kept his arms spread slightly to symbolize that he didn't want trouble. Although, in truth, he too didn't like how the situation ended up as.

"It seems fortune does not favor me today," said Fallacy.

"Wait a sec," said Cyborg, "Fallacy?"

"Oh yes," said Fallacy, "if it isn't the spy. I've been wanting to have another meeting with you although I would have desired a more suitable environment. An environment with me holding a blade to your throat."

"The feeling's mutual."

Beast Boy noticed the little exchange of pleasantries and got curious. "Old friend of yours, Cy?"

"She's from the HIVE academy. We were group mates on a project once. Something about a research into localized terrorism. Thanks to her, we got an A."

"How charming," said Fallacy. "You remember me."

"How could I forget you after you gave that nightmare of me being chased by giant rubber chickens around the halls? I could eat fried chicken for weeks!"

Fallacy wore a slight expression of humor. "You were the new student. It was your initiation."

"I get it now," said Raven. "You must be the spellbinder that's been plaguing us, aren't you? The same one at the electronics store and just a few minutes ago."

Fallacy mockingly curtsied.

"Well, that's one mystery solved." Raven turned to Watcher. "But…who are you then?"

Watcher sweatdropped and simply giggle nervously. Fallacy noted this question from Raven and his reaction through the side of her eye. She then turned to the Titans and noted their curious looks towards the young boy.

"So you really don't know each other…" said Fallacy. "Well, I guess it doesn't really make a difference in the long run, as long as I fulfill my mission."

"What are you talking about?" asked Robin. "How do you know each other?"

"I have no need to answer your questions, young detective. My business is elsewhere at the moment. I have my duty to the HIVE to carry out and neither you," she turned towards Watcher, "nor you will stop our plans. I will take my leave now."

"Hold it! You're not going anywhere!"

Fallacy ignored him and started to turn away. "Don't you know rude to impede a woman when she desires to leave?"

Watcher saw her moving away and but what he didn't see right away was that her hand was maneuvering the rope dart out of his sight. He wasn't ready for it when the dart suddenly went flying at him like an oversized bullet. The bright red tassel once again distracted his sight and caused him to hesitate slightly. Fallacy got lucky this time, to a certain degree. Even though Watcher did move to the side in time to avoid serious injury, the dart grazed his cheek causing a nasty cut.

"Argh!"

Watcher went down on one knee and grasped the bleeding side of his face with his hand. He cursed himself for being so slow. He should've been watching her, making sure she didn't try anything funny. But he let his guard down for only a second. He could have avoided the dart by turning intangible, but he actually made the conscious decision not to since the Titans had suddenly appeared. He didn't want to expose his abilities to strangers unless he really had no choice. Now that cost him a bit of blood.

Fallacy didn't stop moving. With that little sneak attack to distract her onlookers, she reached into her pockets with her free hand and retrieved a small ball bearing. She threw it down onto the floor and smoke filled the immediate area around Fallacy, Watcher, and the Titans and reduced visibility to near nothing. No one was even able to see their own hand in front of their face. It took a considerable while before the small smoke bomb Fallacy set off to run out of smoke to spew out. The pitter-patter of fleeing feet could be barely heard in the room as well as the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere. The titans would've done something about it if they didn't feel like they were in soup.

"I cannot see anything!" exclaimed Starfire from somewhere in the fray of things. "Friends, where have you all gone?"

"We're here, Star," called out Robin. "We can't see any better than you though. We got to get rid of this smoke! Somebody!"

"I'm all over it, chief!" exclaimed Beast Boy from inside the smoke somewhere.

Beast Boy kept his word and thought of an interesting way to disperse the smoke a bit more so that they could at least have some degree of visibility. In a few moments, a strong gust of wind came from somewhere and blew the smoke away from the concentrated area and spread it across the room more. As the smoke spread out, visibility finally came back. All the Titans began to appear once again and were shielding themselves from the sudden gust of wind.

The Titans turned and saw what was causing the wind and saw that Beast Boy had transformed himself into a pterodactyl and was fanning away the smoke with his mighty wings. After a while he transformed back into his elfin self and let the room's own ventilation system do the rest. The Titans then began to look about their surroundings and noticed that the two mysterious beings were nowhere to be found in the room.

"They have gone!" exclaimed Starfire being the first to notice and alert the others.

"I would've figured as much from Fallacy," said Cyborg.

"But what about the other guy?" asked Raven. "What was his reasons for being in such a hurry to leave? And did anybody recognized him by the way?"

The Titans thought about thins and contemplated for a moment on the possible identity of the stranger in the white jacket. He was young, that much was clear, maybe even somewhere along their age group. It wasn't clear if he was meta-human as of yet but when they entered the room it looked like that he was at odds with the former HIVE student and was holding his own. Fallacy's last move on him may have confirmed their suspicion that she and the boy were nowhere near being friends.

But this didn't convince Robin.

Who was he a why was he here? Classic questions when faced with an unknown stranger in an unknown situation. Neither of which he could answer at the moment.

"We'll investigate this further," said Robin in a flat, stoic voice, "but right now, let's just all go back to the tower. There's nothing more we can do here."

None of the other Titans offered an argument.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

A short distance away.

On the rooftop of a nearby apartment complex, Watcher rested against a ventilation duct, licking his wounds so to speak. He removed the glove from one hand and used that hand to investigate his cheek which stopped bleeding only a minute ago. He felt a slight sting as he touched the cut caused by the rope dart but it really wasn't as bad as it looked or felt. It would probably heal up in a week without leaving a trace. But that was the least hurtful of his wounds.

As he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handkerchief to wipe the excess blood still on his cheek, he kept thinking about how much he screwed up in just one day. Not only was he unable to find his target, he also somehow managed exposing himself to the rest of his, for the lack of a better term, 'competition'.

"Argh!" he suddenly exclaimed as the handkerchief touched a very sensitive part of the cut. "Tsssssk! Not my day at all."

Truthfully he didn't see things going this badly this quick. Then again, as he thought about it more, he thought he was the only one after the old man. He didn't think that one of the most famous team of heroes and one of the most nefarious team of villains were after the same person. He doubted that either of the two groups had common objectives with his. It was supposed to be simpler than this and in only a few days it had ballooned to something he couldn't catch up with!

He pocketed away his handkerchief. He noticed he was getting tense and he didn't want that. He let himself relax more and lean further back into the ventilation duct. Eventually he let himself slide down until he was sitting on the rooftop gravel. He took in deep breaths.

There, that was much better.

Eventually he calmed down. Getting frustrated over petty matters isn't worth the high blood pressure. Ultimately, he figured, nothing was lost in this little incident. A chance meeting like this was inevitable in the long run. But he still had his own objectives to complete and as long as the rest of his competition doesn't know exactly who he's doing this for, it's still okay.

After a good long relaxing sit, Watcher got back up to his feet and watched as the sun rise in the distance. The mission was still the priority. He reassured himself that it was and that he was back on track. Everything else can be sorted out later. Right now the most important thing was to take the next step.

"Now…" he mumbled to himself, "where was I?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Authors note: As usual, thanks to all those who've been reading and reviewing this story up to this point. More and more of the plot is being exposed and believe me there's more to be had. Pls. R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Own the Titans…I do not…

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Titans Tower, later that afternoon.

"Here we go," said Cyborg as he typed away at the main computer while the rest of the team was seated at the couch behind him.

The huge screen in front of them began to display a profile of the villainess know to them now as Fallacy. The file that Cyborg retrieved was just something from a database he copied from the original HIVE academy system during his infiltration into the organization. The database held all the student records of every villain-in-training in the HIVE up until its destruction. The Titans mainly used this database to keep tabs on the many HIVE students that went missing after the destruction of the HIVE Academy.

"Fallacy, huh?" mumbled Beast Boy. "So she really has those kooky spellbinding powers that madfe me and Satar see all those things that weren't really there?"

"Yup," replied Cyborg. "The girl really lives up to her name."

"According to this record," said Robin, "she was the top of her class. That true."

"Well, she was always the overachiever. She idolized Brother Blood to the point of obsession. She was always the first to volunteer whenever Blood had a big assignment. She was out of town when we originally wrecked the academy. That was when she went AWOL."

"Do you think she's the one leading the HIVE Five now?"

"Possible. She was at the scene of the arena. Not sure if she was coordinating the whole thing though."

"Perhaps, she is," said Starfire. "The way I have viewed the situation, it was as if we we're drawn to the arena structure where the HIVE Five distracted us for this Fallacy to use her powers on our friend."

"She may be on to something there," concurred Beast Boy.

"I agree," said Robin. "Beast Boy may not have been their specific target for the illusion but the general objective of the HIVE Five…or I guess they're six now…is still quite obvious. They were indirectly questioning us on the location of Professor Chang."

"The same guy we're looking for. What a coin-ci-dink!"

"In this line of business, there are hardly any coincidences."

"No, he may be right," said Raven, grabbing everyone's attention. "When I think about it, they had no reason to have ever believed that we we're after Professor Chang in the first place. The way they questioned Beast Boy, it was as if they simply _assumed_ that we knew already where Professor Chang was. But of course, we didn't and that lead to a failure on their part."

The rest of the group took a long moment to consider Raven's word. She had good points. But that only raised another concern which was already there to begin with. Why were the HIVE Five after Professor Chang? What was he to them?

Ever since the start of this case, The Titans have never really given much thought to Professor Chang. They simply thought he just went tomb raiding over the weekend and was selling whatever he found to the highest bidder which was what he usually did. But now their interest seemed quite peeked as now the HIVE had somehow developed an interest. True Professor Chang did work for the HIVE Academy for a short time during when Cyborg helped establish the Titans East but he was being mind-controlled then. And they doubted that has anything to do with this current case.

"So the real question here is," said Beast Boy, "why would those guys want to go after the old man so badly?"

"Indeed. And unfortunately, that's a question only they can answer."

"I doubt they shall share that answer with us," said Starfire truthfully.

"They probably don't even know we're after him as well."

"And, if anything, they won't have any mutual objectives with us even if they did know. They made it velar earlier today when they attacked us out of the blue. They were just using us. But since we can't give them anything that they can use, they'll just have to look somewhere else."

"Great!" said Cyborg. "The less I have to deal with Fallacy the better!"

"That's not necessarily a good thing though. They might hurt somebody in the process of looking for Professor Chang. I mean, look what Beast Boy almost did to me."

Raven raised the part of her cloak that Beast Boy shredded when he was transformed as a lion for everyone to see. Beast Boy scratched the back and threw Raven an apologetic look. Raven gave back an understanding look knowing that it wasn't really the changeling's fault. And beside, her point was that it could've been worse but fortunately it wasn't.

"So, it's decided then," said Robin. "A new priority for us is to apprehend the HIVE Five and their new member, Fallacy. But at the same time, we still need to keep looking for leads on where Professor Chang is. Chances are we'll actually run into the HIVE Five along the way seeing as we're after the same guy. But we can't let them have him. Who knows what their planning? And now on to our other concern…"

"Are you referring," spoke up Starfire, "the strange young man who was conflicting with Fallacy in the arena of the Jump City?"

"Yup. Him."

"Anybody got a name to share?" asked Cyborg to the rest of the group.

They all looked to each other for a few moments until everyone just shook their heads. They didn't know who he was and they never had any reason to until now. The stranger was a complete wildcard that came out of nowhere.

Robin was the most concerned at that moment. He knew how dangerous a wild card can be. The things you know about his are concerning and the things you _don't_ know about him are worse. You can tell they have skill and an agenda you can't be sure that is a benefit or a problem to your own. But you don't who or what is the motivation. Wild cards, by nature, can almost never be predicted and often they catch you off-guard. Wild cards are always the most dangerous element on the battlefield. But to whom the danger is directed to is a question that always needs answering.

"Right now, we have nothing on him," said Robin. "Absolutely nothing."

"Is there any way," said Starfire, "for us to possible find out who he may be. I am quite curious about that boy."

"We can't find out anything about him unless we confront him directly, Star. That's a lot easier said than done. We don't know where he's operating from…"

"Or who he's working for…" said Beast Boy.

"Or what his powers are if any…" said Cyborg.

"Or if he's our ally or enemy…" said Raven.

Everyone turned to Raven, again raising the point of trustworthiness between strangers. The incident with Terra never really wore off from her even though she has long since resolved her differences with the misunderstood geomancer. But then, that has always been her nature. She always questioned the loyalties of the people around her. That could be because of her own distrust in herself.

For the most part of hr life, she wanted to do nothing but good. But with her inheritance of her father's blood, all her life she always knew she was destined for beckoning the worst evil that mankind will ever face. Truthfully, the first person's loyalties she ever questioned were her own. Raven was the first person who Raven couldn't trust. This line of paranoia towards her self has often rubbed of on others, more often leading to dire consequences. In some way, deep down, she blamed a bit of herself for Terra's demise. Raven figured that some of the distrust she was throwing at Terra contributed to her decision into leaving the Titans. Could she have prevented it? If she only had been a bit more understanding, more accepting? Sadly, she'll never find out now and all that's left for her is the regret that came after, same with all her teammates.

She wanted to get rid of all that distrust that was inherent in her but for Raven that was a lot easier said than done. And as much as possible she didn't want it to influence her friends so much. At the same time, she couldn't help but be paranoid. With so little to call her own, including her friendships, she doesn't want to loose anymore than she has to.

"This is something we have to clear up," said Raven. "We also don't know whose side he's on. However, it was clear from Fallacy's actions towards him that he wasn't on the HIVE's side. I could sense the enmity between those two when we busted into the room."

"Then could he be our ally?" asked Starfire.

"Well, on Earth we do have an old saying, Star: The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"But that won't suffice it for me," said Robin. "There's always the possibility that he could be from a rival criminal organization we still don't know about. Or he could be a solo act like Red X."

"Do you have to be so paranoid all the time?" asked Cyborg, calling everyone's attention. "Look, why don't we think a bit more positive, man."

Cyborg was more than tired of Robin's pessimistic attitude towards unexpected events during cases. He always had, even though he was right over half the time. It wasn't in Cyborg's attitude to always look in the gloomy side of things. Ever since he became confined to his new metal body after his accident when he was younger, he figured that he went about as low a point as possible in his life. There was nowhere left to go but up. He never ceased looking at all the positive things and he wished some of his teammates do the same.

"What do you mean, friend Cyborg?" inquired Starfire.

"C'mon, it's obvious that this case is bigger than we originally figured it to be. I mean, we're after Chang, he's after Chang, the HIVE Five is after Chang…Right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the Salvation Army started putting up wanted posters for the guy as well! As much as we can, why don't we hope for more help to our side rather than more opposition?"

"I guess you have a point there. It would be nice if we had a new ally. However I cannot negate the suspicions of Raven and Robin. I feel that they are also valid."

"Let's just pretend for one second that he is a friend and that, even though we don't know each other yet, we're actually after the same thing. What then?"

"Well if he is our ally," said Robin, "then we'll have to find a way and work together with him. But I doubt he wants anything to do with us, judging by the way he escaped us at the arena. But this may be because he too doesn't know about us looking for Chang as well."

"But I think we'll run into him again soon enough," said Raven. "Since we're all after the same thing now, encounters are inevitable."

"And when we do meet him," continued Robin, "if he's really our ally, we'll find a way to help him."

"And if he proves not to be?" asked Starfire.

"We beat the crap out of him."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

In the HIVE Five's secret lair.

The five boys arrived soon after the whole debacle at the Jump City Arena. Gizmo was fiddling with his backpack which had taken off earlier and checked it for any extensive damage which Robin might have caused when he went and turned Gizmo into a piñata. Billy Numerous, just one of him this time, was rubbing the inside of his ear with a finger to get rid of the ringing caused by Cyborg's seismic attack. Mammoth, Kid Wykkyd, and See-More, who all generally just received major physical blows to their persons, were massaging some sore body parts.

Understandably, the group was not to happy with their situation. Not only did they get their butts whopped, they also didn't walk away with anything that they were after in the first place. The plan failed and they were back to square one.

More accurately, they never left square one.

"Well this was productive day…" said Gizmo, "NOT!"

"Will ya simmer down there, buddy," said Billy Numerous, rubbing a finger into his ear. "Ma' ears are still ringin' like a fire alarm on Apokolips! Dang them Titans!"

The door to their main room suddenly opened and Fallacy walked in rather briskly. She was obviously in no state of relaxation.

"What kept you, girl?" asked See-More. "We've been wondering where ya' were."

"Something happened?" asked Mammoth.

Fallacy gave them a look that said that she really didn't have any interest in answering that inquiry. But after all the boys have been through, she didn't want to be rude to them. She answered anyway. "I had…an unexpected complication."

"Care to expound on that a bit?" asked Gizmo with a mix of curiosity and frustration in his voice.

"We have unexpected competition," continued Fallacy, with more than enough loathing in her tone.

This picked the curiosity of all who were in the room. Everyone had that look of inquiry in their eyes and was genuinely interested in what Fallacy had to say. She looked over their expressions to confirm this and gathered the words she wanted to convey to her team.

"Someone else wants our target," said Fallacy. "Exactly who and for what reason, I cannot say though. But whoever _he_ is, he has skill and powers enough to be a nuisance."

"Greeeeeaaaat…" said Gizmo with obvious sarcasm. "Just what we need."

Fallacy curved one side of her lip and looked towards Gizmo. "You despair so quickly, my young friend. You should be a bit more positive of the situation."

"Exactly what has been 'positive' in this whole situation? We got our butts kicked today! And we didn't even get any info on Chang!"

"So we may have been unsuccessful today. But this needs not to be despaired over. Wasn't it you yourself, little inventor, that said that we might need to consider alternatives?"

Gizmo was about to say something when he suddenly remembered that she was right. During the initial planning of their little escapade, Gizmo, in his ever whimsical manner, was the first one to say that not all their planned sources of information may actually have the information they needed so he told the team that they needed to consider more sources should any of the previous fail. Among their sources were, of course, the Teen Titans. Gizmo and the other boys immediately wanted to go after them first, perhaps to try and get them back for the incident in the electronics store. Fallacy couldn't persuade them otherwise. They soon found out that the Titans were a mistake and now they need to look elsewhere.

"Yeah, right…I forgot."

"Well then, we'll just have to explore other means of getting the information we want."

"But what about the Titans?" asked Mammoth.

"They have no clear Idea of what we're doing so I doubt they're going to be much of a problem since they cannot predict out movements. But…that boy…could be a problem."

"Exactly, who ya' talkin' 'bout anyways?" asked Billy.

Fallacy thought back to her encounter with the boy called 'Watcher' in the VIP Lounge of the Jump City arena. "I was confronted at the arena. The boy was young, but I can tell he has seen the battlefield before. He had skill and abilities that were not normal. He's a meta-human, that much was clear."

"A Titan?" asked See-More all of a sudden after hearing meta-human statement.

"No. He did not know the Titans directly, nor the other way around. He was alone and he had a different agenda to our own. But whatever that agenda may be, it involves our target and he was quite insistent when he questioned me about the treacherous old man."

"So that means what exactly?" asked a Billy clone who appeared out of nowhere.

"It means he'll cross our paths sooner or later. We need to be prepared for that instance."

"So what?" said Mammoth as he stood up brimming with confidence. "When I get my hands on the little squirt, I'll turn him into a pancake!"

"The problem is that you might _not _be able to get you're hands on him no matter how close you get."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand what I mean by that soon enough, my friend."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

In the middle of Jump City Park.

A place that's green is often few and far between in the middle of a bustling metropolis like Jump City. However, the people took the trouble to actually have a really big one right in the middle of the city. The city's central park, with its wide open area of grass, trees, ponds and an almost serene like quietness that was a stark contrast to the ordinarily noisy grounds of the city streets, is sanctuary for those who just want to find a quiet place to sit back and relax.

Coincidentally, Watcher just loved to relax.

He was on a park bench in front of a man-made pond, throwing pieces of bread on the ground which a whole flock of pigeons were more than happy to pick up on. Behind him, children were happily playing a game of catch with a Frisbee. Watcher looked back and smiled to himself while he continued to feed the birds.

He started to contemplate on his next move. The police didn't have anything useful in their databanks but he wasn't really expecting much from them in the first place. Maybe he should start looking in the more underground aspects of society. But who first to question? Well, he was pretty sure the HIVE Five didn't know where the old man was, otherwise why go to so much trouble at the arena. The Titans probably didn't know or maybe they didn't want to say anything. He'll just have to confirm it later on. Maybe he should try one of the villains that Chang supplied weapons and equipment to. There might be better prospects there.

As he was about to get up and leave, his pants pocket began to ring. He sat back down and picked up his PDA from his pocket which indeed was receiving a call from someone. He read the name of the caller being displayed. He grinned to himself before answering it.

"Hello?" he said to the phone.

"So, how badly have you screwed up this time?" said the distinct voice of a girl on the other line.

"Nice to hear from you to," replied Watcher with a slightly annoyed tone. "Do you always have to assume that I screwed up at something when I'm on assignment."

"Well, I've seen your track record."

"But, you've only been on a few assignments with me."

"And how many times did you screw up in each one?"

Watcher slapped his forehead in a bit of frustration. "Get off my case and just tell me why you called already."

"Touchy…well anyways I wanted to call about your target."

Watcher sat up straight and face turned serious. "What?"

"I've been doing as much digging from my end. Chances are you didn't find anything from the police didn't you? Well it's the same as me. I couldn't find a record of Chang anywhere on any "official" databases. However I managed to uncover a bit of a paper trail. It's not complete but at least I was able to learn something that's, I guess, a little bit important."

"What did you learn?"

"Chang's left the city completely so you won't find him there. He moved somewhere else, I can't tell where at the moment. Point is he's no longer in the mainland."

"I see. How did you know this?"

"I simply followed a paper trail I managed to dig up for the last known incident where the old fossil was involved in. During his last operation he operated with a partner. But that little project of theirs never really took off. I know that for sure. Anyway, looking back through some old files I hacked from their old facilities, he made a couple of side deals and purchases while he had that huge operation going on. I'm thinking those side deals might be involved in what his doing now. He managed to avoid detection all this time but we got lucky."

"Interesting. So he's actually been planning this for a long time now. Right under everyone's noses."

"Exactly. I also took a look at the interrogation records from the men of his that were captured in during his last operation. They didn't know anything exact but he was supposedly planning to move somewhere else."

"Got an exact location."

"Nope. But there are indications that he might have gone…north."

"North? Could be more specific?"

"Sorry, but that's all I got. Why don't you pull some weight around on your side. Maybe you could still find something in that city. If not, we'll just have to find better sources of information."

"We? As I last recall, this was _my_ assignment. Aren't you supposed to be busy with that thing in--?"

"I was done with that yesterday and since I have nothing to do…why not do you a favor. I mean like I said, you're not exactly our model operative. I just thought you could use the help and all--"

Watcher let out a long sigh of exasperation. He knew all to well the real reason why she wanted to help so much. And he knew it wasn't because of him. "C'mon…you know that's not it."

Silence from the other line.

Watcher sat back on the bench. "You we're offered this assignment. The master even encouraged you herself. But you decided not to take and I ended up stuck with it. But even though you rejected it, I know you still wanted to take this assignment despite your initial rejection. Is it because it's _him_ we're after? Is it because this is the Titans' city?"

More silence from the other line.

"You still there?" asked Watcher.

"…I guess you're right."

"And here I thought you were past that."

"C'mon, Watcher. You know what I'm going through. This isn't exactly easy for me either."

"I know that. I've had lousy experiences in the past so I know how hard it might be to get past that. I know what you're going through and I sympathize, believe me."

"Thanks."

"But I need to know if you're still dedicated to the objectives. You do know how important this assignment is, right? I need to know that you're not loosing focus."

"…No, I'm not. I know what's at stake. I know what the importance is. You know me, Watcher. I'll never let you down, or this world. Too many precious things here to loose."

"Great. I'm glad we're on the same page."

"I'll keep you posted when I get some new info. Until then I think you can handle that city for a while, can't you? Even if you do run into the Titans…which I'm sure you already did and that you're just not telling me…I'm sure you can handle them as well."

"What was that tip you gave me about them again."

"It's simple. Just…don't give them a reason to hate you. That's the worse mistake you could ever do to them."

"Right…you would know about that won't you?"

"No…I wouldn't"

Watcher snickered slightly to himself. "Of course…Anyway, thanks for the heads up."

"No prob, dude!"

With that, the caller hung up. Watcher snickered to himself again as he pocketed away his PDA. It was nice to hear a familiar voice. Now the plot became a bit bigger than he had expected. He was closer to his target, but not as close as he would've wanted. He'll just have to keep going from this point and simply roll with the punches. Even though he knew his target was nowhere in the city, he still had some things to do here. With a newly regained determination, he suddenly got up from the bench, startling several of the pigeons as he did. They all took to the air surrounding Watcher in a swirl of wings and feathers.

One day is over, soon starts another.

Leaving behind the bread for the birds to finish, Watcher walked away and disappeared back into the depths of the city.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's Note: Slow progress in the meantime but the action will pick up in the next chapter. I just wanted to show that this plot has plenty of depth into it. Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far. Pls. R&R! See ya next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: For those of you who have no long term memory, which is…most of you, I do not own the Teen Titans.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Twenty-four years ago.

In the barren and featureless wasteland of the frozen north, a convoy of Jeeps appeared out of the blizzard. There were three of the vehicles in total, each of which was carrying four men all dressed in heavy snow clothes with the hoods of their coats covering their faces. The convoy kept on moving forward as the snow barreled down upon them. It was a wonder hoe the drivers could see anything. In the distance they did see something. Even through the blinding snow they could see a small bright red light in the distance. The jeeps all headed for that direction in synchronicity.

The Jeeps got closer and finally saw in full the source of the small red light. Another person in heavy winter gear was waving a flare with their hand over her head, calling the small convoy of jeeps over. The person with the flare was standing in front of large cave that dug into the mountain. With a wave of the other hand, the person with the torch directed the three vehicles into the cave. The first and second jeep entered without stopping while the last stopped for a second to let the man with the torch climb up onto the back and eventually followed the two ahead of it.

Deeper into the large cave did the convoy went with their headlights as their only guide through the ever growing darkness. However, as soon as one would think the whole cave would turn pitch-black another source of light appeared as the convoy reached what would be the end of the cave. At the end of the cave there were more people less dressed for winter since all the snow was now far outside. There over a dozen lamps, the kind one would see on movie sets, standing over small tents, crates, and a few gas-powered generators humming away. There were also a whole bunch of men and women doing all sorts of things for reasons unknown. And beyond all that was a sight that was beyond description.

The jeeps drove slowly pass the men and women in the small camp site in the middle of the cavern and stopped right where the cave opened up into a truly humongous cavern. And that wasn't the only thing worth noting. The cavern consisted of many things that most people would consider to be not natural. Elegantly carved walls and structures, statues, and a gigantic crystal that was attached to the ceiling that illuminated the cavern in an eerie bluish hue, among other things could render any man speechless.

The men from the three jeeps got off and started gathering closer into the cavern. Slowly, they pulled the hoods from their coats. The first three of the men to do it were an Englishman, a Russian, and an Oriental. All of them looked to be in their late twenties.

"No matter how many times I see it," said the Englishman, "it never ceases to amaze me. Don't you think so, Nikolai?"

"Absolutely," replied the Russian. "What do you say, Professor?"

The Oriental man stepped forward. "It is beyond anything I could ever dream of. Truly magnificent."

"Let's go shall we?" said the Englishman. 'we have to meet our associates down there somewhere."

All of them started marching forward into the ancient city. As the did, they made sure to check everything on their way down. Statues, structures, anything of remote interest were given the utmost observation. Several of the man started picking up random debris from the floor and pathways then storing them in stainless steel cylinders that looked like thermos bottles.

They stopped at one of the statues that was a bit more complete and undamaged by time. It depicted a creature they had never seen before. Humanoid body parts but deathly thin by human standards. A face that was alien and eyes that were of an insect-like quality. Obviously something that the party had never encountered before.

"What are they?" one of the men asked.

"That's what we hope to find out," said the Russian man.

The party continued to move on while the Oriental man lingered in front of the statue for a good long time. He was mesmerized by the figure that stood tall before him. He was fascinated by not only the anatomical aspects of the creature but also its demeanor. How he could possibly tell the demeanor from an expressionless statue with no recognizable human facial features was beyond anyone. But he saw something there, perhaps the way the eyes were contorted or the way the head was tilted down slightly as if the creature was looking down on him.

"You're quite the proud one aren't you?" asked the man, not really expecting a response form the statue. "Look at what you've created here. This…is absolutely breathtaking. You are not low and peasant, I'm sure. No I an see it in you, in this place. You had power to wield, didn't you?"

He continued to stare up at the face of the stone creature. Again he received no response.

"Oh, how I wish we could talk to each other. The things you could tell me, could teach me. Oh, I want to know so much about you. You had everything, everything you could ever desire because you had the power to gain them. What are your secrets?"

Again the statue did nothing to respond.

"What was it that called you to power?"

It was most likely just his overwhelmed imagination, but the man could have sworn that the statue gave its equivalent of a knowing smile down at him. He returned his own smile mimicking the statues smug nature.

"Professor!" called out one of the men ahead.

The Oriental man turned towards the party which he had finally noticed to be a good distance away. He quickly came back to his senses and rushed after the group. He eventually caught up with them and gave them a poor excuse for lingering behind. The group as a whole eventually reached their destination.

In the center of the massive cavern there was what looked like to be a rather large courtyard once upon a time. All that was left of the courtyard were the tiles different colored tiles comprising its floor. If one were to look from above the different colored tiles on the ground would have formed the image of a winged figure being either worshiped or repulsed by a population below it. In the center of the courtyard was another small campsite of sorts, occupied by one woman and a few guys behind her working on some electronics. The woman stepped up to greet the party, mostly its three more prominent members.

"Dr. Cannes, Dr. Volkov!" greeted the woman to the Englishman and Russian respectively. "I've been expecting you two. Great to have you here."

"You too, Miss, Evans," said Dr. Cannes. "This is our associate, Professor--"

"Chang!" she completed for the Doctor. "Yes, I've heard about your work."

She extended a hand out to the Oriental man who gladly took it. "I'm glad you know me."

"It's good to have you here, Professor. I trust you'll be amazed at our finds that we'll explore in a while."

"I'm amazed enough as it is. "I don't know what else you could possibly show me."

"Wait till you see what we brought back to the lab," said Dr. Volkov.

"What do you all say we get started?" said Dr. Cannes.

"As you say, Doctor," said the woman.

She directed them towards the small campsite surrounding something in the middle of it. Moving inside the camp site, the two Doctors and the Professor discovered a rather large pit right in the middle of the courtyard. They could see that there were wires attached to generators being fed into the pit. There was also a chain ladder, anchored to another two jeeps that has been weighed down with extra equipment, leading down into the pit. Te woman was the first to step towards the ladder and pulled at it to test that it was anchored properly. She then looked to the three scientists.

"Well then," she said pleasantly, "shall we?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day.

In his new secret lair, Professor Chang was disturbed by a rather upsetting call from his captain. He received a call stating that there was a problem with the device being used to penetrate into the artifact. According to the crew managing it, the machine hit something unexpected in the rock, an extra compacted layer or something, which caused a feedback of energy and ultimately overloaded the machine's circuits. Due to this little mishap, all operations came to a halt. As he walked down the halls, Professor Chang was more than a bit peeved at the situation.

Why is there always a delay? Just when everything is going right…

He reached the room where the giant spherical rock was found. The door opened automatically at the Professor's approach. Inside, he could see al the men gathered around the machine looking it over, hence they were too busy to notice their leader enter the room. The captain, with the recognizable stripe in his uniform, was the first one to turn around and notice Professor Chang's presence.

"Sir!" He said standing at attention.

Everyone eventually saw who the captain was greeting and followed suit.

Professor Chang acknowledged them with a slight wave. "Is there a problem sir?"

"Yes, sir," said the henchman captain. "The crew here tells me that this thing's been overloaded. Many of the internal mechanisms have been destroyed. We need to replace these parts."

"Was the crystal damaged?"

The captain didn't answer right away. Instead he quickly moved to the side of the machine and opened the compartment in the shaft of the machine where he remembered the strange crystal was placed. When he opened it, the crystal was still there, still glowing in a golden hue.

"The crystal is undamaged sir, and so is its compartment," said the captain.

"Well, that's one piece of good news," said Chang.

"Sir, the machine is still disabled. The only way to repair it is with replacements, as I have said earlier."

"Fine." Chang looked towards the crew who were supposed to be handling the machine. "I want a complete damage report by this afternoon gentlemen. Also, make a list on all the components we need to replace. I'll work on exactly where we'll obtain these replacements. Understand?"

They all nodded respectfully.

"Good. Captain, you're with me."

And with that, the men got to work. The henchman captain followed Professor Chang as he walked out the door. But before he could exit, Professor Chang stopped and looked back on the large, spherical rock that was in the room. He could see where th machine was pointing at with its lone probe-like turret. What started out as a small crack was now a gaping hole the sized of a large watermelon.

"How much has been made on that?" he asked the captain.

"By our approximations, sir," said the captain, "around forty-seven percent."

Well, at least there was some progress, Chang thought to himself. Now came an unexpectedly extended wait. Chang was peeved but it didn't really bother him all that much. He has been waiting ever so patiently for all the long years of his life for the moment to come when he will receive his call to power.

A few more days won't kill him.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nine years ago.

He was almost completely exhausted but his feet never ceased moving. Shear fear was his only motivation at this point. Nothing else mattered to the boy of seven any more the instinct to survive. So he kept on running, the blood form a fresh cut on his arm still flowing and staining his black t-shirt and gray pants. Not once did he look behind him for he knew what he would see. The alley he was running down on was not getting any wider which caused him some worry.

The alley ahead made a sharp turn to the right. The boy tried to slow down as much as he can but still ended up crashing into the wall. He yelped in pain as his wounded arm was slightly crushed between his body and the hard stone wall. As he did he startled a man that was leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette.

"Chi sono voi?" he asked the boy. The smoking man eventually saw the bleeding wound on the boy's arm and moved towards him to offer help. "Siete feriti! Avete qualche cosa spostare quello dentro? Venuto, Li prenderò all'ospedale."

The man's words fell on deaf ears. The boy could care less what the man was offering him. As the man got closer the boy simply shoved him away quite forcefully. The man fell back towards the opposite wall of the alley and dropped his cigarette in the process. The boy kept on running towards the end of the alley. The man was left dazed an confused.

Moments later a few more men appeared in the alley. They were young men with rather gritty appearances. One of them in particular was chewing on a toothpick and had a knife on one had, stained with fresh blood. The man on the floor looked at these men, three as he had counted, with hidden fear.

"Dove è il ragazzo?" asked the one with the knife

The man on the street simply lifted a hand to point in the direction of where the boy had earlier disappeared to. The three gritty looking men went in that direction and didn't even bother thanking the man on the floor, still dazed and confused.

Farther ahead the boy had traveled down the alley at fast pace. So fast that the boy didn't take the time to watch his footing. A loose tile on the ground was missed by the boy's eyes but readily found by the boy's toes. He tripped forward and rolled on his head one before coming to a halt on the ground. With his less injured arm, the boy wrapped his head as he slowly groaned in pain. He wasn't bleeding from the head but he could feel the bump as it formed on his noggin. His toes hurt as well; they felt crushed as he curled them with in his worn-out shoes. The pain nearly brought him to tears.

He didn't want to run anymore. He was too tired as it is and he could barely stand the pain anymore.

"Là è!" screamed someone.

The boy looked back to where he had come from. The three men were after him again, and gaining significant ground on him. Once again, the boy forced himself to ignore the pain, ignore the fear, and just run.

The boy was soon back on his feet and blazing down the alley, the three men gaining swiftly. After a few more turns he finally saw an exit to the alley he was in. He rushed for it and the sunlight nearly blinded him. So much so that he tripped again and fell face first into the middle of the road. The boy yelped in pain and caught the attention of several people in the streets. In pain once again, the boy took some time before getting back up. However he was a little too late in doing so. Looking to his side after hearing a blaring honk, the boy could see a small truck carrying fruit heading right for him.

Time froze for the boy as well as everyone else on the scene. He was trapped, nowhere to go, to hurt to run. Only one option left to use.

No! He couldn't do it. He didn't want to. If he used that ability of his, people will see him for what he is: something they are not. He couldn't do it. It was the same thing that made his parents hate him. Though he never knew them, he knew that _that_ must have been the reason. He mustn't! He shouldn't! Otherwise people will hate him again. He didn't want it!

But… he didn't want to die just yet either.

As the truck's front bumper met the boy's face, instinct took over and something happened to the boy's body that most people would classify as strange. But whatever happened was not clear to all of the bystanders there as the truck ran over where the boy was down on the ground. The truck sped on ahead while doing some maddening turns and braking which eventually caused the whole thing to flip on its side and come to a stop in the middle of the road. Fruit spilled everywhere. All eyes were on the truck for a moment as the driver, apparently uninjured for the most part, struggled to climb out his window and out of his disabled vehicle.

All eyes then turned to the street where the boy had been just a moment ago. People were immensely surprised to see the boy, still there, in the same position, completely unharmed not counting the obvious cut on his arm which was already there to begin with.

The boy slowly got up on shaking lags and looked around him. Everyone was looking at him. No, they were staring at him, murmuring in Italian to each other, trying to figure out what just happened. He could feel their glares piercing him like daggers. This is what he had feared. He could feel himself getting smaller, being drowned in a torrent of stares when more familiar voices.

"Voi! Non si muova!" yelled out one of the men who were chasing him.

The boy did the first thing to come to his mind. He ran.

He was up on his feet again in a heartbeat and was running down the road, the three men following closely. He couldn't remember why he was being chased anymore. For that matter, he couldn't remember why he bothered to run anymore. But he kept on going anyway. He ran for a few more blocks down the road, looking for any means of escape. The men were getting more annoyed by the distance, giving the boy less and less reason to stop. The he smelled it. The familiar scent of water. He could definitely pick it up and he could tell it was close.

The canals! There might a chance for him yet. He saw an alley up ahead which he knew could only lead to the water. He took it, the men continued their pursuit of him. The boy didn't look back anymore. In a few meters he could see it. He didn't think twice.

With a great leap, the boy went down into the water with a huge splash. The splash startled everyone in the vicinity. The boy completely disappeared into the water, beneath the ripples. The three men who were chasing him reached the end of the alley but failed to follow the boy from that point on. They looked around the waters and all had turned quiet. The waited for a good few minutes and the boy never surfaced. The first thing that cam to their minds was that he had drowned.

"Lo danni! Noi pressocché l'avevamo," exclaimed one of the men.

Meanwhile, a little ways down the canal in another alley. Hidden from anyone's view the boy appeared out of nowhere, completely drenched, and rested himself against the wall, breathing heavily. He dropped down to sit on the ground while still keeping his back to the wall. He allowed himself to relax for the moment; there was no danger anymore, at least not yet. But he knew they'll come looking for him sometime later. They always do. He wiped some of the water from his face and hair with one hand. His hand stopped on his face and it slowly extended forward and remained about a couple of feet from the boy's face.

He stared at his own hand as if it was the strangest thing in the world. Then with a simple force of will, his entire hand and forearm turned into a ghostly state. He brought his now ghostly hand down to the ground and it easily phased right through the solid brick. He brought his hand back up to his face and, with another simple mental command, his hand turned back to its normal, tangible state. Though to do such things was as easy to the boy as lifting his own arm, he took no pride in the ability. He would have been better without it. Everything would've been so much easier. What good is it when it sares away everything you could ever hold dear?

Slowly, he got back up to his feet and started walking down the alley into his continuing world of isolation.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day, late afternoon.

In light of the seasonal change, the weather ion the city had gone down quite drastically. The plant life in and around the city was steadily loosing there green hues in favor of the fall's oranges, reds, and yellows. As the afternoons got longer, the skies started turning grayer in the absence of the sun each afternoon. More and more shoppers started to cumulate on the streets at night

Sitting in the same café that he was sitting in only a few days ago, Watcher was again sipping on a hot cup of coffee. It had not been a good few days since his arrival. He was still nowhere near his target and it seemed like he had little chance of ever getting closer if he stayed in the city. It had already been two days since he received the call from his teammate telling him that Professor Chang was most likely not even in the mainland anymore. Not good news.

He sighed exasperatingly. Nothing was going according to plan.

He didn't take comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one. By now he knew fully well that the Teen Titans, the city's resident team of superhero teens, and the HIVE Five, the city's resident team of supervillain teens, were both after the same thing. Somehow he didn't like the fact of having this much competition. What could he do be keep on sipping at his coffee as he did.

He looked outside as a familiar noise caught his attention. Everyone around him looked outside in a similar way as a few police cars came speeding down the street, sirens blaring.

Naturally, the patrons o the café started murmuring amongst themselves, discussing what could be the problem that would warrant the police like that. Watcher, for one, didn't have to wonder.

He decided he was going to find out in a few minutes anyway.

Sipping the last of his coffee, he got up, left a tip, and walked out of door in a briskly pace.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Just outside of the Roscher Bank, one of Jump City's biggest banks.

"Stand aside, you pests!" exclaimed Dr. Light as he shot his free arm forward and blasted a beam of light towards a police car. The two officers that were occupying the car were able to get out before the beam could hit them and hobbled to safety just as the car was blown back and onto its roof.

To Dr. Light's side several more police patrol cruisers started to form a roadblock. Dr. Light smiled to himself as he dropped the four bags of money and jewelry he carried in one hand down onto the ground. He then lifted that hand and used it to blast a couple of light beams underneath the cruisers causing them to flip and land on their roofs, trapping the officers inside.

"Well, if that is the last of the riff-raff," said Dr. Light, "I think I shall be taking my leave now."

Light reached down with one hand towards the bags that carried his stolen loot. As he was about to grab the bags, something fast and sharp flew threw the air and ripped the straps right of the bags of stolen goods and cash. Dr. Light was taken aback by this and quickly stepped away from the bags. He looked up and saw whatever ripped at his bags was flying high in a large arc as it returned to its original location and ended up back in Robin's gloved hand.

"Dr. Light…" said Robin. "You certainly haven't seen the light, despite your namesake. Haven't you figured it out yet that you just can't win?"

"Yeah, dude, c'mon!" exclaimed. We've got like a ton of better things to do than bother with your sorry butt."

"Don't underestimate me boy!" exclaimed Dr. Light. "You have yet to see my new tricks."

"Oh gee, we're shaking in out boots," said Raven in a mockingly monotone voice.

"You should be…"

Dr. Light placed his hand on his gauntlet and pressed a hidden button on it. From his backpack, several small, metallic spheres came floating out and hovered within a few feet of Dr. Light. He pressed another button on his gauntlet and the five small spheres began to glow bright yellow.

"You know how those old philosophers keep saying that you are your worst enemy?" asked Dr. Light as the spheres kept getting brighter to almost blinding proportions. "Here's the literal version of that saying."

As the light dimmed down, the Titans got a closer look at whatever Dr. Light just pulled on them. They got a nasty shock. In place of the small, floating orbs were…for lack of a better term, the Teen Titans themselves. Aside from the fact that the new Titans seemed to be made by a perpetually brightly glowing, yellow substance, every detail was dead on. The glowing new Light-Titans stared back with emotionless eyes at the original Titans who were all wide-eyed.

"I have to confess," said Starfire. "I did not perceive this to be coming…"

"Got that right," commented Cyborg.

"Hard light constructs!" exclaimed Dr. Light quite proudly. "A little idea I borrowed from a fellow in Metropolis with my equal tastes in illumination. Of course I decided to take his concept a little further, which you five will soon see for yourselves." He looked towards his Titan constructs and smiled wickedly. "Titans…go!"

The five Titan constructs charged headlong at the real Titans, each of them specifically taking on their corresponding counterpart.

"Titans, split up!" ordered Robin.

They did so and the light Titan constructs split up along with them.

Raven flew backwards as Light-Raven charged at her with a glowing yellow palm. From out of Light-Raven's palm came bolts of bright energy which nearly hit the real Raven who managed to dive down to the ground. She landed on her feet and looked around for options. There was a wrecked police cruiser nearby with nobody in it. She decided to use that.

Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Stretching out a hand she encased the wrecked police cruiser and hurled it like a throwing stone towards he light construct self. Light-Raven saw the incoming threat and gained altitude in order to avoid it. As the flying police cruiser passed by under her, Light-Raven stretched out her own hand and shot a beam of light that completely engulfed the cruiser in a bright yellow halo of light which caused it to stop in the middle of the air. Light-Raven threw the cruiser right back at Raven.

The dark Titan went wide eyed and jumped to the side just as the cruiser impacted the ground in a mangled heap of twisted metal. Raven got back to her feet and looked up only to see Light-Raven lifting up more things into the air and threateningly holding them towards Raven. Raven could think of only one thing to do and that was to form a shield of black energy just as Light-Raven let loose her makeshift projectiles.

Raven's shield managed to hold off all of the mangled things that Light-Raven through at her. Raven lat down her shield as soon as she was sure her opponent ran out of things to throw. To Raven's surprise, Light-Raven decided to charge in herself with light charged fists. Raven prepared herself and stood her ground. She charged up her own fists with black energy and got ready to meet Light-Raven's charge head-on.

The two met in a brilliant flash of black and yellow energy.

Meanwhile, Robin and Cyborg were dueling with their light counterparts side by side. As the two Titans held their ground, Light-Robin and Light-Cyborg came running up to them. Light-Robin extended a bo-staff made of similar light and thrust it towards Robin who met the weapon with his own more solid staff. As Robin and his light counterpart dual with each other, Cyborg went toe-to-toe with Light-Cyborg.

"You may have the good looks," said Cyborg, "but nothing beats the original! Show me what you got!"

Light-Cyborg charged right and delivered a quick couple of jabs at Cyborg's stomach. As Cyborg was bent over from the initial impacts, Light-Cyborg delivered a quick uppercut. Cyborg flew backwards and fell on his back and skidded a few feet.

"Cyborg!" exclaimed Robin.

That little moment of distraction prompted Light-Robin to attack by sweeping his staff to trip Robin causing him to fall to the ground on his back. Light-Robin then pounced on Robin as he was down held his staff up high. Robin, on the ground, noticed early and raised his bo-staff horizontally above his body just as Light-Robin's staff came down like a hammer. The light staff collided with the solid staff and immediately produced sparks where they met. As Light-Robin kept pushing down, Robin gritted his teeth as he did his best to keep pushing up.

On the side, Light-Cyborg charged at the downed Cyborg and leapt into the air with a fist about to drop down on Cyborg's vulnerable form. From the ground Cyborg was able to ascertain a bad outcome if he didn't act. He plant his arms and his back top the ground and raised both feet. As Light Cyborg came barreling down like a wrecking ball, Cyborg met the light construct with a powerful upwards kick that drove his opponent back and straight through a building. Light-Cyborg was practically embedded into the cement wall.

Cyborg quickly got up to his feet and looked around him to see Light-Robin and the real Robin pushing against each other. The real Robin was quickly loosing strength. Cyborg acted immediately and turned his arm into his signature sonic cannon, aimed at Light-Robin, and fired a quick burst of concentrated sonic energy. Upon impact, Light-Robin was blown away and was sent crashing into a nearby storefront.

Robin got up and looked towards Cyborg. "Thanks!"

"No Prob!"

Looking to the side, the two Titans noticed that the two light constructs started recovering and were soon back for more action. Robin and Cyborg met them head-on.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

On the side, Dr. Light kept on watching while still standing on the same spot the whole time. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself as he is now finally gaining the upper hand on his long time foes. Maybe this would be the day that he would finally win against those pesky children? What a day that would be if he did.

Dr. Light was too busy with his being proud that he did not notice a gloved hand in a black sleeve suddenly appearing out of thin air right beside him and reaching down onto the bags of stolen loot.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Meanwhile above them, Starfire was having an aerial dogfight with Light-Starfire. They flew circles around each other, firing all sorts of energy orbs and laser beams at each other. Starfire would do her best to get the upper hand but Light-Starfire took the early advantage and flew higher than Starfire and kept the Tamaranean princess at bay. Starfire was having a hard time finding any room for a counterattack as Light-Starfire kept on pelting her with her own version of starbolts.

One of the bolts got lucky and hit Starfire in the thigh. The sudden burning sensation, though it did not result in a serious injury, was enough to throw Starfire off her rhythm of flight and sent her crashing down into another unoccupied police cruiser, crushing it like an aluminum can. As Starfire stride to recover, Light-Starfire moved to an ideal shooting position and prepared to fire a finishing shot. As Light-Starfire released a massive bolt of light energy there was suddenly a large black thing swooped at her from the side and completely blocked the light bolt from hitting Starfire and the resulting explosion actually forced Light-Starfire back. Only after the dust cleared was it revealed to be Raven forming a black shield with her telekinetic powers.

"Raven!" exclaimed Starfire. "I am glad you are fine!"

"Let's not celebrate yet, Star," replied Raven.

From the side, the two girls noticed Light-Raven heading towards them, fists glowing bright yellow. The girls were unable to react but fortunately enough Beast Boy swooped in as a pterodactyl and swiped at Light-Raven with his sharp talons. The attack brought down Light-Raven down to the ground rather easily. The green pterodactyl looked towards the girls hovering close by and they all gave each other a complementary grin.

Suddenly, a falcon made out of light swooped down from above and swiped at Beast Boy's beak. Beast boy was caught off-guard by the sudden attack and was brought down to the ground instantly. He transformed back into his elfin self an clutched his scratched face.

"Man, why always the nose?" said Beast Boy.

The falcon flew just over the ground before transforming into Light-Beast Boy. Beast boy saw his doppelganger and readied himself. Light-Beast Boy suddenly transformed into a large bull and charged at Beast Boy who countered by turning into a large gorilla. With his muscular arms, Beast Boy literally grabbed the bull by the horns and used all of his primal strength to hold all that beef back. Above, Raven and Starfire wee not liking the situation.

"We have to help him!" exclaimed Starfire.

Just as she said so, a flurry of light energy bolts started pelting Raven's shield. LightStarfire was back in action and was taking her offensive as far as it would go.

"We have our own problems of our own, Starfire!" exclaimed Raven.

Light-Starfire kept on shooting giving Raven barely any room to recover. The strain was starting to get to her as the shield started to waiver. Raven was gritting her teeth by that moment.

"I don't know how long I can keep this up."

"Let me try something," said Starfire. Bringing her two hands close together she started to gather a large concentration of energy.

As Light-Starfire continued to pelt at Raven's shield, Starfire suddenly popped up from behind Raven and quickly shot her concentrated sphere of energy towards her light construct counterpart. The immense starbolt completely knocked down Light-Starfire and sent her spiraling to the ground. Raven didn't let it rest there however.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Stretching an arm forward she wrapped Light-Starfire's body in a black aura and sent her flying with a simple wave of her hand towards Light-Beast Boy who was still busy with the real Beast Boy in ape form. Light-Starfire collided with Light-Beast Boy and the two were sent sprawling on the ground to the side. As the two doppelgangers were recovering, Beast Boy capitalized on the opportunity and transformed into a mountain goat. He then charged at the two and rammed them with his large rounded horns sending them flying back towards where Light-Raven was recovering. All three of the light constructs were sprawled in a heap.

Beast Boy transformed back into his elfin form. "Guess I picked up the spare on that one!"

Just then, Robin and Cyborg were finally able to get the upper hand on their light doppelgangers. Robin swiped at Light-Robin with his bo-staff at the same time that Cyborg threw a powerful jab at Light-Cyborg. The two Light-Titans were sent flying towards the three other copies. The Five real Titans gathered victoriously.

"Boo-yah!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Well, let's just wrap this up already and go home," said Beast Boy.

"Strange as it may be," said Raven, "I actually agree with Beast Boy."

They all turned to Dr. Light who was still standing in the exact same spot since the Titans arrived. And he was still smiling smugly which was strange to The Titans. Usually he would be panicking by now.

"Don't think this is over that easily."

As the Titans started to close in on Dr. Light they suddenly found themselves being surrounded by their light construct doppelgangers once again. This caught them off-guard. They didn't expect this. The Light-Titans didn't look the least bit tired. Why would they be? They're made of light. An advantage the Titans didn't have. A bad deal no matter how you cut it.

"You don't stand a chance against my constructs!" said Dr. Light. "They'll never tire as you do. Looks like you've finally met your match…literally or otherwise. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The Titans gritted their teeth as the Light-Titans looked to be preparing for another attack.

"Now, I think I'll just leave you children to play and take my leave," said Dr. Light. "let me just grab my bags and then I'll be—What?"

Looking down, Dr. Light noticed tat the bags full of loot he stole from the back which he laid down onto the ground were no longer there. They had utterly disappeared into thin air. Dr. Light was wide-eyed stammering for words due to this new development. The Titans seem to have noticed to and were expressing their own curiosity.

"How did…but I…There's no way…Argh! Damn the luck!" Dr. Light turned towards the Titans with a hateful glare. "You sneaky little devils! Decided to do things the sleazy way now, huh?"

"What?" retorted Beast Boy. "We didn't do that! You lost that stuff, we never came close to you, dude!"

"Like I could believe you! You may have outsmarted me this time but I will get you for this!"

He pressed a switch on his guantlt just like before and the five Light-Titans suddenly turned back into the five hovering spheres they started out as. The spheres floated back into Dr. Light's backpack while at the same time the villain was pulling out a small round object from his belt. He pressed a hidden button o it and a small yellow loght started blinking on it.

"Until we meet again!"

Dr. Light tossed the small round object into the air and it exploded in a brilliant flash of light. The Titans turned away from the flash in order to protect their eyes. By the time the flash had gone and their sight had returned, Dr. Light was nowhere to be found. He had escaped.

"Dang it!" exclaimed Cyborg. "We almost had him!"

"I am confused," said Starfire. "What happened? Firstly to the bags of stolen goods that the Dr. Light had stolen from this facility."

"Beats the heck out of me," said Beast Boy.

Raven was about to say something when she suddenly hesitated. She stood there with her mouth slightly agape and she blinked a couple of times too much for a normal pace. Her mind seemed to be preoccupied with something. Robin quickly noticed this.

"Something wrong, Raven?"

Raven hesitated answering enough for the whole team to take notice of this. "Hold that thought…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Up on the roof of a nearby building.

Watcher looked down onto the Teen Titans as they congregate in front of the bank just after the villain they referred to as Dr. Light vanished due to his now botched up robbery. Though he didn't usually like to intervene so much, Watcher simply couldn't help himself sometimes.

It was simple enough to do. While the Titans were distracted with their doubles and Dr. Light was distracted with his gloating, he simply snuck in behind them all and grabbed the bags all while maintaining invisibility. He then simply returned to the back and dropped the bags in the middle of the vault Dr. light broke into earlier. Nobody ever saw him.

Though he did that a long time ago, he still managed to convince himself and stay a bit to watch the rest of the Titans' battle even though he knew very well that the smartest thing to do was to walk away before anybody could notice him. He was a bit disappointed that they didn't manage to actually catch the villain considering the villain's reputation as their personal punching bag. Maybe the guy just got smarter or the Titans were just a bit bogged down this time.

Inside his mind, Watcher reprimanded himself for taking too much interest in the Titans. They were not part of his mission. They're not a factor to be concerned about.

Although recent events have been steadily convincing him that they may be a big factor in the assignment, he was still unsure of his options at that point. Watcher had been thinking long and hard if he should get involved with them. He knew they weren't his enemies, but they weren't technically his allies either. Watcher decided that it's still too early in the game to decide anything.

He turned around and started walking away. In the middle of the rooftop he hesitated and reached into his pocket. He retrieved his PDA, turned on the phone function and called a pre-programmed number.

"Hello?" asked a familiar female voice, the same one he talked to in the park just the other day.

"Tell me about the Titans," said Watcher, offering no pleasantries whatsoever."

"Uh…well, they're an elite group of highly skilled and talented teenagers who protect Jump City, and the world in general, form villainous beings that threaten the safety of the people. There are five of them. First there's Robin. He's--"

"I know all that! It's just that…"

"…You're thinking of getting involve with them, huh?

"…"

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"Is that a personal opinion?"

A long silence from the other line.

"Look, Si--"

"It's just that they're not part of our objectives. Our job is to look for somebody and they don't factor in."

"not even if the person we're looking for is they person _they're_ looking for as well. Plus that the infamous HIVE Five, I'm sure you know those guys, are looking for the same person as well?"

"Wh-What?"

"This is bigger than we originally conceived it to be. I don't know, maybe I should consider a broader picture here."

"I don't know about that…but don't forget what we're really trying to prevent here. It's most likely the Titans don't know about it but if you tell them…"

"_If_ I tell them."

"Well…I trust your judgment anyway. I know you'll igure out the best way to deal with things, Watcher. You always have. If you asking me what are the Titans like, they're good people. You can always trust them to do the right thing…or at least, what they believe to be the right thing. If you're gonna confront them, keep this in mind."

"Got it. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome."

They hung up on each other. Watcher thought about what his friend told him about the Titans. He knew he could trust hem to do the right thing. But know_ her_ what she might have wanted to say was that the only real issue would be their trust in _him_. Maybe he should think about it a bit more. He started walking again with the intent of leaving the scene behind.

"Hold it right there!"

Watcher went wide-eyed as another familiar female voice came from behind him. He turned around in an instant to see Raven of the Teen Titans hovering near the edge of the rooftop, staring him in the eye.

Raven narrowed her eyes on the young stranger. "We need to talk…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Boy, this took quite a while to finish. Too much homework getting in the way. I apologize if progress is going to be a bit sluggish for a while but I got my studies to attend to. Till next time then. Pls. R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Teen Titans or any of the brand names and products with copyrights and trademarks on them that you see here.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Four years ago.

A reckless driver in a brand new Porches Boxter drove down the streets of London in the middle of the night with complete disregard for public safety as seen when the sports car smashed into a telephone booth and nearly ran over a late night drinker on the sidewalk. The near impact caused the man to drop his bottle of scotch. He quickly turned around and waved a fist at the Boxter's driver.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you? You arse!"

The driver couldn't care less. The car continued speeding down the near-empty roads until the car came to the London Bridge as the car began to cross, a police patrol car cut her off right in the middle of the bridge. The driver was forced to stop, the sports car's headlights illuminating a small compact police car no less that ten feet in front of it.

From the small car stepped out a single officer. The driver of the Porches could clearly see that there was nobody else in the car. Just this one officer.

The said officer made his way towards the car. The car had its roof down and the Officer was able to instantly identify the driver as a young woman. Too young actually. He could tell that she well below the legal age to drive. That was going to be a problem. He took out his torch and shined the light at the driver seat. True enough, the young woman of about fifteen with unusual silver hair who looked up at the officer was too young to be driving.

"Good evening, governor…" said the young woman rather calmly.

The officer was in no mood for pleasantries. "License and registration if you will, miss."

"I…sort of…don't have any."

The officer did not look amused. "Please step out of the vehicle, miss."

"I'd…rather not. I mean, I'm just getting comfortable."

"I will not ask you again, miss. Step out of the car."

The girl didn't comply. "You know, it think it would be better…for the both of us…if you just walk away right now."

The officer was getting ticked off and it was evident by the fact that one of his hands was slowly reachinf for his sidearm. "Do not aggravate me miss. I don't need this tonight."

"What you need is to cool down."

"Step out of the car or I'll--"

The officer was interrupted when a wasp flew to his face and stung his nose. He yelped in pain and staggered back from the car and the girl. He thought it was over but then another wasp came out of nowhere and stung him in the shoulder. Shortly after that, another wasp stung him in the thigh. H was waving his hands in all directions as a few more wasps appeared out of thin air and started stinging in every spot on his body. Soon he found himself immersed in a frenzied swarm, is ears almost going deaf at the immense buzzing sound. He flailed his hands around uselessly as he felt hundreds of stings covering his body. He didn't notice it but the officer was actually walking backwards all the way to the edge of the bridge.

Meanwhile, the driver of the Boxter couldn't help but be amused as she watched the officer wave around his hands in empty, quiet air. The only sound was coming from the officer's yelps of imaginary pain. Be fore the man knew it, he stumbled to the guardrail and right over it into the dark and murky waters bellow. The girl ion the car practically cracked up when she heard the splash.

Below, the officer resurfaced after spending only a few seconds under the surface. He found himself shivering in the freezing cold waters and wondering just how in the world he got there in the first place. On the bridge, after she had finished laughing her head off, the driver put her car into gear and started to drive off when she noticed in her headlights another figure on the bridge that again stopped her progress.

"Oy! Move it you!" she exclaimed to the man, who was dressed in a dark trench coat with a hood that covered his head, rendering his face invisible.

The girl in the car was not pleased. "Fine have it your way."

She focused her mind towards the stranger and reached out with her thoughts to find the man's mind. She soon found it and broke through its mental barriers and went deep into it. At this point her golden eyes began to glow slightly. All she had to do now was to simply put her creativeness to work and—

"Aaaaaaarrgh!"

Something was wrong. She clasped both hands on her head to try and force out an immense pain that ran through her own mind. As soon as the sharp pain was gone she found herself bent over and panting like a dog. She looked up again and spotted the man ahead of her. He slowly moved a hand to his hood and pulled it down to reveal the face of an old man. The girl found herself scared out of her wits as the man stepped closer, enough so that she as able to hear what he said next.

"Good evening. You can call me Brother Blood."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day at the HIVE Five's secret layer.

Fallacy was relaxing in the couch drinking a warm cup of tea she prepared for herself as her friends were sitting on a round table just to the side, excluding Gizmo who was on the computer typing and clicking away. She sighed to herself, as she watched her teammates on the table playing a game of cards. She wished she could be as relaxed as they were.

It's been an unproductive few days since the incident at the arena. The HIVE Five has since then been searching their underground connections for the Professor Chang and found no success at it. They spoke, or better yet confronted, several people of the underground society hoping to find the elusive man.

Nothing happened much except for that time when a fight broke out between the HIVE Five and some street gang that has been known to purchase some weapons from Chang. The HIVE Five were more than a match and managed to subdue the gang and grill them for any information they had. The gang members didn't have anything useful as they had lost contact with their dubious supplier a long time ago already. Despite the disappointing lack of information gathered, the boys of the team were a bit satisfied of being able to get some excitement from the fight and actually end up being the victors for once.

"Go fish!" exclaimed Billy Numerous.

See-More looked towards him with a surprised expression. "What…there's no 'Go fish' in this game."

"Oh…um…Jin?"

"We're playing _poker_ you moron!"

"Poker?" said Mammoth. "I thought this was UNO."

Everyone else at the table stared at him. On the couch, Fallacy lightly slapped her forehead in annoyance.

"Will you drool-sifters put a lid on it," exclaimed Gizmo at the main computer, "I'm trying to work here!"

"What the heck are you working on anyway?" asked Mammoth.

"Trying to find this guy that we're looking for. What do you think?"

This got Fallacy's interest instantly. "Is that so?"

"After all the digging we did here in this crud-bucket of a city, I'm pretty dang sure we ain't gonna find that old guy here or anyone who knows where he is. So it's time to try out my kind of Kung-fu. I've been hacking every surveillance network across the continent to see if I can get a match and--"

As he said this, a massage box appeared in the screen bearing the message "Results Found."

Gizmo grinned. "And I just got a hit."

He opened the file containing the result as Fallacy moved up behind him. The rest of the boys were following suit. On the screen was a still image taken from the grainy point-of-view of a surveillance camera located inside a building of some sort. In the frame featured a shot of a man dressed in an unusual attire of a thick white body suit and strange looking mask with hoses on it. Fallacy recognized the attire instantly.

"Where was this taken?"

Gizmo did a few clicks and the computer displayed the address of the camera that took the picture. She quickly memorized the address and ginned slightly. "Looks like we may have to go on a little trip…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Titans Tower. Along time ago.

"So…um, Friends?" asked Terra

"Close enough," replied Raven.

The two girls continued to walk down the long, metallic hall of the tower with raven leading the blonde newcomer. Neither was in any real hurry to go to wherever it was that they were going to. They preferred it this way, slowly and with a chance to talk to each other.

"Sorry we kinda got off to a rocky start," said Terra just as they stopped in front of a featureless door in the middle of the hallway.

"Actually," said Raven, "I thought things went pretty well. Took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy."

The two girls giggle towards each other. Raven reached to the side and pressed a switch that opened the door. Inside was a pitch black space without any light. Terra was the first one to enter and she was soon followed by Raven. Raven remained near the door while Terra took a few steps deeper into the darkness, trying in vain to see anything.

"Uh…Where are we?" inquired Terra.

Raven turned her head towards the blonde while putting a finger up to a switch on the wall. "_Your _room."

Raven flipped the switched and the lights turned on instantly.

"Surprise!"

Terra was taken aback when Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin stood in the middle of the now illuminated room. Terra blinked then gave her surroundings a quick glance. The walls were painted in a sort of desert theme with a starry night sky overhead. In the fairly large room was a bed on the far end and a curved couch facing the window along with some cabinets, a small bookshelf already filled, and nice looking decorations all around.

Terra had a hard time finding words. "You guys did all this…for me?"

"Yeah, since you helped us save our home and all," said Beast Boy, "we thought you deserved your own room."

"You also deserve one of these," said Robin, stepping forward and holding out a brand new Titans communicator towards Terra who was a bit hesitant in taking it.

Terra brought the thing closer to her face. "So, I'm…"

"A Teen Titan." Robin extends a hand towards Terra which she shakes politely. "Glad to have you on the team."

"Aw, yeah, very nice!" said Cyborg enthusiastically.

"This is the best thing that's even happened to me," said Beast Boy with red hearts on his eyes.

"Welcome, new Titan!" exclaimed Starfire.

"Congratulations Terra," said Raven, "you earned it."

"Alright," said Cyborg, "There's only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion: Waffles"

All the Titans gave their agreements and started walking out towards the door. Terra hesitated a bit however. "Sounds good. I'll catch in a minute, okay?"

Once all of the original five Titans have exited the room, the sixth Titan stared back at her new communicator. "I can't believe it. They actually trust me…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

On the roof of the building across the street from the Roscher Bank.

Watcher stood silently and in a state of slight dumbfound as he continued to glance up at Raven's hovering figure that was, by then, past the rooftop's edge and just a few feet from the gravel on the roof. For a long while neither said a word to the other.

Watcher had obvious reasons for being silent as he was. In the ever growing list of things that just aren't going his way, this has got to be the highpoint of that list yet. Being discovered earlier was bad enough. Being discovered _and_ confronted left the young observer with very little things to be happy about. He was trying his best to think of a way to get out of this situation with the least amount of hassle and conviction towards him. But his mind was coming up with nothing but blanks.

Raven was quiet because she has now become the observer among the two. She stared at him with probing eyes, making sure to check every detail, every breath he took and what they could possibly mean. In her experience, strangers never gave that much reason to be trusted right off the bat. It was her nature to be so mistrusting. Raven, for most of her life, has been left with nothing but distrust by almost everyone around her. She supposed it might have rubbed off an impression on her psyche. With no one around her ever giving her any trust, she found it extremely difficult to give any of her own. She even lost trust in herself.

The rest of the Teen Titans can attest to how hard it is to actually gain Raven's full trust. It even took a former teammate to give up her life just to get that trust. Raven was sometimes ashamed of this nature of hers. However, to distrust someone in order to ensure the safety of her friends, she gladly bears that shame.

"Alright," said Raven all of sudden, "let's start with the basics…Who are you?"

Watcher continued to simply stand there silently. His mind was working overtime. There just had to be a way out of this! C'mon, there has to be!

Raven was loosing more of her patience by the second. "Can't you talk?"

Watcher eventually realized that he'd better say something otherwise something unpleasant might happen. From his very reliable sources, he knew he had plenty to worry about from someone like Raven.

"Uh…well…" he stuttered incoherently.

Just then, without any warning, a large, green pterodactyl carrying Cyborg on its talons popped up from the edge of the rooftop. They were soon followed by Starfire carrying Robin who was hanging down from her arms. They assembled around Raven, Starfire and Robin on one side and Beast Boy, back in his elfin form, along with Cyborg on the other, and started to eye the stranger with a mix of curiosity and the slightest bit of suspicion.

None of this served to make Watcher any calmer. "Oooo-kay…this is uncomfortable."

Beast boy was the first person to step forward. "Dude!" he exclaimed in realization, "you're the guy we saw in the arena!"

"Thank you, Captain Observant…" said Cyborg sarcastically.

For a short while, they all stared at the young stranger in front of them curiously. Watcher suddenly found himself in one of those situations where he often found himself in the course of his career. Only God knew how he managed to survive this long.

"Alright…" said watcher nervously, "believe it or not, I don't want any trouble."

"A little too late for that, don't you think?" said Raven almost immediately. "Considering the fact that we found you in the company of a dangerous villain in a scene of a crime, it's way past trying to prove innocence."

Watcher felt the urge to walk backwards but controlled himself not to. This was a different kind of battle and he had to play himself right in order to get out of it unscathed. On the Titans side, they all took glances at Raven with a little bit of surprise towards that little outburst.

"Raven," said Starfire, "do you not think that is slightly harsh?"

Raven tuned her head to stare daggers at Starfire. "Why…?"

Robin was the next on to step forward, wanting to take control of the situation and not scare away their new found acquaintance. "Alright, I'm gonna ask the usual: Who are you?"

"Man, I'm getting tired of that question," Watcher mumbled to himself.

He looked at all five of the Titans. They were every bit as curious as they were apprehensive. He knew enough to tell that that wasn't a good thing. They all looked like they were all ready to spring at him at a moments notice as soon as they see something in him they didn't like. All this would have been invisible to a casual glance but Watcher had better sight than that. He could tell they didn't have the least bit of trust towards him at that moment.

"Can you answer me?" said Robin.

Watcher weighed his options. Escape might be dangerous at this point so he decided to try and test the waters for a while. He decided he'll do a little confronting. Why not? Let him see what the Titans are all about.

"Well…would you believe me if I did give you an answer?" said Watcher with a generous amount of calmness to is voice.

"What?"

"I think it's pretty clear by now, to both of us, that you already have a fixed image of who I am in your head and thus you won't give a dang about what I have to say about myself." He glanced at Raven. "She kinda cleared that up for me…"

Watcher was trying to keep as straight a face as possible, trying to look like he knew what he was doing. It was simply an act of course. He wanted to see Robin's reaction.

"That's…not necessarily true," said Robin, lowering his tone to something with a little less authority.

Watcher kept a good eye on Robin as he said that. Even with that mask covering the boy wonder's eyes, Watcher could tell a great deal of what he was thinking. He could see that the Titan was not accusing him of anything just yet and that he was also willing to give a little bit of leeway. Still, Robin had no intention of letting him just walk away either.

"But you're not really asking who I am, are you?" replied Watcher, being careful to sound as least hostile as possible.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If I asked you who you are, how would you answer?"

"I'm Robin of the Teen Titans."

"See that? You didn't say who you are, you said _what_ you are. And that's the same thing you're asking about me. You want to know _what_ I am."

"Well, I…I guess you're right about that."

Robin, a small, undetectable grin growing on his face, was a bit surprised at the stranger's whim. This guy knew what he was doing, that much was clear to him. He could tell that this strange teen had quite a bit of experience in situations like this. The way he responds to their inquiries shows that he wants to be a bit friendly but still keep his privacy. Robin, for the most part, could easily understand and respect that in the young stranger. And it was through this that they were each finding some common ground in each other.

Needless to say, he wasn't what most people would call normal. Robin was not absolutely sure what made him that way but he wanted to find out, determined even. But for some reason he wanted to give this person, despite being a complete stranger to him and his team, a bit of trust. Enough to maybe even let him in the folds of the Titans' affairs.

Why this was so, Robin couldn't tell.

Maybe there was just something about this guy that didn't really strike him as evil. Or maybe he remembered what even just a little lack of trust could do to a person. Either way, he didn't want to be hasty and rush into things. Not like before, when he was so impulsive in making decisions on his own that it almost alienated him from the people he cared about and ended up causing him and others great pain. Sometimes he even thought that that might be the reason he grew apart from his former mentor in the first place. He had enough lessons form the past to teach him that not everything is purely black and white.

But that didn't mean he was quite convinced with this young stranger either. He could tell that whatever this guy was up to, it was completely purpose-driven. Now the only question was what that purpose was.

Robin was about to press on when Raven suddenly hovered forward ahead of Robin and a little closer to the stranger. And even though she was more than ten feet away still, Watcher couldn't help but feel constricted.

"Fine," said Raven conviction burning in her eyes. "What are you? Answer the question, now!"

Watcher, and the other Titans, looked up at Raven nervously. Watcher didn't expect this. Well, he was expecting it at some level but he didn't expect it so early. He knew, from his sources, that Raven would have been the most bother among all the Titans in terms of trust. Watcher had to switch strategies. Robin and the others might be a little easier to win over, but the dark girl was a whole new challenge for him.

"I…really can't indulge that question," said Watcher with a cautious tone.

Raven didn't like this. The stranger was avoiding the questions now despite the fact that _he_ was the one who suggested the question in the first place. Raven only narrowed her eyes more towards the stranger.

Robin didn't like this either but it was not for the same reasons that Raven wasn't liking this herself. It was actually Raven that Robin was not liking at the moment. A while ago he and the stranger were just beginning to establish some common ground that they could've used to build on and the young stranger was even willing enough to open up a little. Now Raven ruined it by being so forceful all of a sudden. The stranger was back on the defensive, putting on back his armor.

"I said answer me!" ordered Raven.

Watcher was now desperately looking for an exit. Things were no longer in his control at any level. He needed to get out and he needed to do it soon.

"What I can tell you is…that I'm not your enemy," said Watcher. "I swear that's true."

"Then you are our ally?" asked Starfire.

"Not technically."

"Then what are you exactly?" inquired Raven, a bit too forcefully for Watcher's comfort.

"Raven!" called out Robin but was largely ignored by the dark girl as she slowly continued to approach Watcher who was now slowly taking minute steps backwards.

"Enough with this crud. You're going to tell me who and what you are and who or what it is you're working for. Tell me now!"

Watcher stared back at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "There are things happening here that you can't comprehend as of this moment. Things that are bigger than any one of us. No matter what I say to you now, you cannot possibly fathom the events that will follow."

Raven narrowed her eyes even more. "I'm losing my patience with you."

"Raven!" called out Robin only slightly louder than before.

Raven finally turned around. "What?"

It was in that brief moment that watcher noticed that there were no eyes on him. It was in that brief moment where all of the titans were looking towards Raven and Raven was looking back at them. He was in no one's field of view. He too this moment, brief as it may be, to put to work his escape strategy. It was in that brief moment when he chose to disappear and when the Titans turned back to look at him, he was gone.

"He has vanished," pointed out Starfire.

"That was quick," commented Beast Boy before glancing at Raven. "Way to make a first impression, Rae. I think he likes us."

"What?" exclaimed the dark girl, facing Beast Boy. "I was questioning him!"

"It sounded more like an interrogation to me. I thought he was cool guy and you had to go all third degree on him!"

"I couldn't afford to be nice. For all we know he could be--"

"Enough, you two," interrupted Robin, gaining everyone's attention. "Let's just face it, we're done here."

Everyone wore a solemn expression on their faces for a short while. That was true. Now that the young stranger was gone, they had nothing left to do.

"So what do we do now, man?" asked Cyborg.

"I want to make sure everything's fine at the bank. That place has been having a run of bad luck recently. You guys go check it out."

"Roger that. Yo, grass stain, give me a lift won't you."

"Don't call me that!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all went over the edge and down towards the street, on their way to the Roscher Bank. Raven took one last glance to where the stranger was standing. Nobody was there. She turned around and went towards the edge when she noticed that Robin hasn't moved from his spot. He too was glancing at the last place where the stranger was only a moment ago.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Raven.

"Beast Boy was right, you know," said Robin.

"What? I was doing my job."

"You could have afforded to be little more considerate."

"He was a suspect."

"Since when did we ever label him a suspect…or was that just you?"

"We don't know anything about this guy. Who he is and who he may be working for is still unknown. He could be scheming against us. And we can pretty much say that this guy is something special. If we let him wander around doing whatever he wants, who knows what could happen to us. It's just like Terra all over again."

"Raven, please stop comparing everything to Terra. _She_ was a true Titan and an inspiration to all heroes out there. You said it yourself one time in front of her statue…when it was still there I the cave."

Raven hesitated for a moment about what she was going to respond with. "But Terra still betrayed us in the end. We gave her our trust and she did that to us. After witnessing something like that, how can you be so willing to give out trust like that."

"Because I know what lack of trust can do as well."

Raven was silent for a bit as robin continued.

"As much as we want to deny it, Terra wasn't the sole responsible person for that whole incident. Slade may have done much of the manipulation that caused Terra to eventually betray us, we had a hand in it as well, Raven."

"But...How could that be?"

Robin took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Terra may have betrayed our trust. But we betrayed hers first, Raven. Deep down, she wanted to trust us but when Slade confronted Beast Boy, everything she saw in us died. We left her alone, the one thing she's been afraid of for God knows how long. How could she not hate us? She wanted so much to trust somebody that she didn't mind if her only option was a sadistic, psychopathic madman bent on destroying the city. After that, did we do anything? Did we try to reconcile with her? No, we sat back and watched as Slade kept on robbing her of her humanity. In the end, everyone betrayed her, including Slade. With no one to turn to she did the one thing she was right and gave her life for it."

Raven didn't say anything.

"It was so easy for us to simply believe that Terra was guilty because that would have made us innocent, without blame. But that was a mistake all of us ended up paying a high price for. We can't simply surrender to our own ready-made truths that allow us to escape blame and we can't let our own insecurities alienate us form the world and the people around us. We have to take risks as well sometimes. None of us are saints, but not everybody is a villain. We simply can't decide wether everyone we meet is guilty, otherwise that only makes us hypocrites. You understand this don't you, Raven?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess I do."

"That guy who was just here. I really don't trust him that much either. But I'm willing to give anyone a chance. This case we're working on may be bigger than what we first thought it would be. We just might need help when push comes to shove later on. And I prefer if the Titans are not on an island when that happens. You get me?"

"…Yeah."

"When we meet that guy again, I'd like to make sure that he gets the right impression about us. The impression that we're the good guys and he _doesn't_ have to be scared of us."

"Alright, I understand."

"That's great. C'mon, let's meet up with the others."

Raven and Robin both mad their way to the edge of the rooftop. Raven assisted robin by creating a black disk out of her powers. Raven turned around one last time before finally deciding that the stranger was gone and decided to focus on more current concerns. They both disappeared below leaving the empty rooftop.

A long moment of silence passed.

Watcher reappeared out of thin air, on the exact same spot where he was standing on when he disappeared. His face was slightly red, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he took this moment to take in a few deep breaths. That was one of those rare moments where he had to turn invisible for a considerably long period of time and it took quite a bit out of his energy. He looked like he just ran hundred meter sprint at the Olympic Games.

Well at least, the Titans were gone and, contrary to what they probably believe at this point, he heard everything they said. He stayed there on that roof of the building for a long while, contemplating the conversation between Raven and Robin.

Maybe there was still a chance he could work with the Titans after all. Robin seemed willing enough to give him some trust and, in all honesty, Watcher didn't have any reason to betray that trust given to him. Raven may have her insecurities for the moment but he can get around that. He's used to it, being able to get around any inconvenience just to make sure that he could get his job done, despite the fact that his comrades would gladly point out that over half of those inconveniences were his fault to begin with. This was probably the case as well, revealing himself to the Titans so early and unexpectedly it was no wonder they had their suspicions. But he won't betray their trust, not like Terr—

Watcher went slightly wide-eyed as he remembered the other part of the conversation he had heard. The part about the girl named Terra. Truth was, he knew the story already. More than anyone could know. He contemplated about what they said about her, how she lived and supposedly perished as a Titan. How she was seen as a traitor then a selfless savior. He knew all that but never got to hear it form the Titans themselves. Now he got a glimpse of what they thought about it.

He looked up at the sky and watched the gray clouds slowly cover the sky. "So…is that why? He said to nobody. "Is that why you're still a little sacred of them…Silicis?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Sluggish progress still due to studies. Sorry. As usual pls. R&R!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own them and, unless the people who created the show wants to donate them, I probably never will.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Twenty-four years ago.

After a long climb down the chain ladder into the dark and freezing cold pit, Professor Chang was as exited as a ten year old boy in Christmas. As he set foot on solid ground, he looked around. He soon found he couldn't see anything in the pitch black darkness. The only light at the moment was coming from the hole directly above them. Almost ten stories above them actually. Looking up he could see the rest of his party as they were making their way down.

"Watch it down there, mate," said Dr. Cannes as he almost reached the bottom.

Chang realized that he was directly below him, still holding on to the ladder. He quickly stepped away and allowed his companion to set foot on the ground as well. Dr. Volkov soon followed in the Englishman's lead. All three scientists were no on the ground of wherever they were in. Soon after, their guide, Evans, settled herself on the hard ground as well.

"Glad to see you all made it," said Evans.

"How many else are coming?" asked Dr. Volkov.

"Six more men will assist us down here."

Chang looked up and saw, indeed, six more men as they climbed down the ladder. He took a look at nearest one to him. He was from the convoy was in he could tell that much. A closer look revealed something the Chang didn't know whether to be assured or nervous about: the man had a gun on his back. An AK-47 to be exact, modified slightly with a shorter barrel, front pistol grip, and an adjustable stock making it look more of a carbine than an assault rifle.

"Kalashnikovs?" asked Dr. Volkov. "What do we need those for?"

"One can never be too cautious," replied Evans.

"Exactly what are you expecting to find down here anyway?"

"Only God knows what we'll find down here…best be prepared for anything, I say."

"Listen," spoke up Dr. Cannes, "we're in an ancient ruin that must by several thousands of years old. We're bound to find some artifacts down here that'll be worth immense value, both scientifically and financially. They tend to be worth more when they don't have bloody bullet holes in them, do you understand me?"

"Of course, Doctor, I'm aware of that."

"I hope you are."

Soon the men were down on the floor along with the three scientists and their guide. They distributed themselves across the small space where the dim light from the hole above illuminated them. The apparent leader of the team went to the three scientist and introduced himself as "Abe." After shaking the hands of the two doctors, Abe noticed a missing professor.

"Professor Chang?" called out Abe.

"I'm here."

Everyone turned to the side and saw the man a short distance away. He had apparently tried to wonder into the dark place but had to stop when he found that his vision couldn't help him any further. "I can't see anything. We're blind down here without lights."

Abe reached into his pockets and pulled out a thick plastic tube a foot long. He gave it to Professor Chang and took out one for himself. Chang looked that the tube in his hand dumbly for a few seconds before looking up at Abe.

"Like this." Abe bent the tube in his hand and a small crack could be heard. He raised the tube for everyone to see and they watched as the tube slowly started to glow bright green. Abe looked towards Chang as if urging him to do the same. Chang looked down at his own tube and did the same thing. He felt something like glass break when he bent the tube and it immediately started glowing very brightly in his hand that he almost couldn't look at it directly. In full glow, it was enough to illuminate a good space around Chang Luminescent chemical reaction he figured.

Abe distributed more tubes to the scientist and made them do the same. The rest of the crew took out some of their own. Soon, ten bright glowing sticks lit up the space around them. From the brightness of the glow sticks, Dr. Cannes took a quick glance around him and saw that the floor was paved with intricate brickwork. He could see columns to the side, rising all the way to the ceiling above them. Taking a few steps to one side, he realized just how big a space it was they were standing in that even their combined glow sticks couldn't illuminate all over.

"We need more light," said Dr. Cannes .

Chang heard this an turned to Abe again and asked for moiré of those glow sticks if he had any. He did, over a dozen of them and it turned out his men had more themselves. He gave Chang six of those sticks. Chang grabbed all of them and broke them all in one swift drop to the knee. He was almost blinded by the suddenly increasing glow. Stepping away from the rest of the group, he started tossing the sticks in every direction. As he did, more and more of the vast room became visible for all to see. Everyone went completely wide-eyed and dropped their jaws as they all stared into the now visible vastness of the space they were in. It was a gloriously large chamber that resembled a modern day stadium of some kind. On the sides were inclining steps that looked like they were for sitting. On one side was what looked like an elaborate altar with elegant carvings of strange creatures and events. The same went for all the walls and even the pillars reaching to the ceiling, all carved with strange artwork that o human hand could possible have made.

"Were going to need more of those sticks," said Chang.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Titans Tower. Early morning.

Robin looked at the grainy sepia photograph that Raven and Beast Boy brought back from the abandoned observatory that Professor Chang took the liberty of once turning into his own secret hideout. Now that place was abandoned and had next to nothing left in it that could be salvaged for whatever reason. The photograph itself was almost useless. Its image was almost completely unrecognizable except for the all too familiar figure of Professor Chang himself. Robin thought that the other figures looked familiar but he couldn't put his finger on just why.

But that wasn't the most interesting thing that Robin was looking at. He flipped the photo and looked at th coordinates written by hand. They were a simple latitude and longitude pinpointing an area within an accuracy of over a thousand square meters. Pretty large area, thought Robin. What could possibly there that was in Chang's interest, let alone the Titans'.

He went to the main computer and typed in the coordinates written on the back of the photograph. Instantly, a large map of the world appeared on screen and zoomed in the designated coordinates. Robin stared at the resulting display curiously, just at the rest of the Titans entered the room.

"Well, your up early, Rob," said Beast Boy. "What're you up to?"

"Work," replied Robin flatly, without looking away from the screen.

Beast Boy gave out an exasperated sigh. "Of course you are. Why do I bother asking?"

"Please, Robin," said Starfire, "tell us of it is that you are currently working on."

"I looked at the stuff Beast Boy and Raven found in the observatory. The coordinates shown on this map was written by Chang on the back of this photograph." He raised the photo above his shoulder for those behind him to see. "It points somewhere in the northern edges of… Greenland ."

" Greenland ?" asked Cyborg. "What the heck could there be in Greenland ?"

Robin turned around to face his team. "That's what intend to find out. Interestingly enough, that's just about the same place where Kole and Gnarrk reported a disturbance."

"I thought so," said Raven. "So we set off for that place and snoop around?"

"Yes, but not all of us."

"What do you mean, dawg?" asked Cyborg.

"As much as I know that there has to be something worth looking at on this location, I can't let all of us just go there. Some of us has to stay here and watch the city."

"So you want us to play security while you go all Indiana Jones up in Greenland ?" asked Beast Boy.

"You guys have to keep an eye on the city. With the HIVE still out there doing God knows what, we have to watch out for when they resurface again. Plus there's that guy…"

The rest of the team nodded in agreement except for Raven who turned her head down slightly and looked a bit disdained. She remembered the last time she met that guy and how she acted. She wished she could've handled it differently now. She wanted a chance to do so. Raven stepped forward to face Robin.

"I'll stay behind," she declared. "You guys can investigate up north."

"All by yourself?" asked Cyborg. "Girl, that just ain't gonna fly."

"Yeah," said Beast Boy, "those HIVE Five guys and that crazy spellbinding chick are way tough. I should know. I'll stay with Rae. It's a gentleman's duty to always stand by a lady's side."

Raven wasn't quite sure how to answer to that. "Um…Thanks, I guess."

"Besides…it could get really chilly up in Greenland . I don't want to catch a cold. Better to stay here where it's nice and cozy."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Beast Boy. "Really…I appreciate he chivalry."

"Raven," called out Robin, catching her attention. "I'm glad you want to take this responsibility. But I want to make sure you understand what we talked about yesterday. You get me."

"Yes," answered Raven with the utmost sincerity.

"Good. In that case, I can go."

"You're leaving now?" asked Starfire.

"I can leave within a few hours. All I need is to pack some equipment and take the T-ship. It'll be the quickest way."

"You cannot go as you are now, Robin," said Starfire. "X'hal knows what could be waiting for you in such a remote location. What terrible perils could be waiting for you there? I believe you must take more precaution, friend Robin. To travel unprepared is the direst mistake. It is in my personal experience that one is best suited to be a Por-kin's fodder if you they were to travel in such a vulnerable state. It is as my people say "Flok ma'hal es'lah fluggol-borg--""

"Uh, Star, what are you getting at exactly?"

"What I am trying to say is…um…"

Beast Boy grinned. "She wants to go with you dude. Geez, take a hint already!"

Robin's mask suddenly widened. "Oh…well, I don't know…" He looked towards Starfire, who's eyes were big and puppy dog like, begging. Robin swallowed nervously. On the side Cyborg and Beast Boy quietly giggled to themselves while Raven rolled her eyes.

"I guess…it couldn't hurt," said Robin in an almost inaudible tone.

Starfire heard it anyway and was ecstatic. "Oh thank you Robin!" Starfire zoomed in towards Robin and suffocated him with one of her trademark hugs. After a while, Starfire finally realized that she was doing more harm than good and finally let go of Robin who was more than happy to be able to breathe again.

"My badness…" said Starfire.

"Okay, no that that's settled," said Cyborg, "shouldn't you two get going? It's a long flight to Greenland ."

"Uh, yeah, right," replied Robin. "Let me just grab some gear in my room."

Robin made for the exit, followed closely by Starfire. Just before reaching the door, Robin took one last look at the three who decided to stay behind, Raven in particular. Raven could sense the non-verbal message Robin was sending and nodded towards him. Robin gave a quick nod back and exited the room with Starfire in tow.

With the two now gone and bound for the cold north, Cyborg turned towards Raven with a curious look on his face. "Wanna tell us what that was about?"

"What do you mean?" asked Raven, though she already knew.

"Robin said you guys had a small talk a while back. Just now, it looked like he wanted to make sure you understood something. What's up?"

Raven gave out an exasperated sigh. "Looking back, my behavior when we met that strange guy for the second time was…a little out of order."

"Oh yeah, that…"

"Well, Robin made sure I wouldn't do it again. And I promise I won't."

"Well, with our run of luck, I'm pretty sure we're gonna run into that guy pretty soon. Or, he'll run into us."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nine years ago.

In the wet market, in the middle of a hot and humid day, the people congregated in the cramped streets going from stall to stall, looking for the best bargain. Amongst the crowds of congregating buyers was a lone boy dress in his old clothes and walking like he had no real purpose. He eyed the many stalls on either side of, noting if anybody was looking at him directly. He seemed to have gone unnoticed. That's one piece of good news, he though. He kept his casual pace as best as he could. He didn't want any attention drawn to him.

Closer, he moved towards one of the stalls he spotted earlier. The particular stall he was looking at was selling fresh fruit, all looked to have been ripe and newly harvested. His mouth started water a bit. He controlled it, trying not to feel as hungry as he really was. He knew he needed to focus. If he messed up, it will just mean more trouble, something he couldn't afford, not after those men chased him a few days ago. The wound on his arm still hurt but he ignored it. He could ignore pain.

Hunger was a different story. He had a hard time ignoring that.

As he approached the stall, he kept an eye on the stall's owner, he was currently arguing with a lady customer who was complaining that the papayas were too small to justify the prices the vendor was giving them. Good, a distraction, less eyes on him.

As he closed in, he picked his options. Anything too big would be too hard to grab and hide, but anything too small won't satisfy him. He had to pick. Less than three meters from the stall, he decided on a bright green apple right near the edge. He memorized where the apple was and preprogrammed a motion of his hand into his brain. He turned his almost full attention to the vendor and the woman, still arguing about the price of the papayas. He watched their eyes, to see if they saw him. They didn't. The distance of about two meters seemed to be a mile long, as the boy nervously kept watch of the vendor's eyes. Less than three feet from the stall, he picked the most opportune moment when the customer pointed to another stall, as if comparing prices of products, causing the vendor to look that way and even less at the boy. The boy's hand flew up with the speed of a bee and snatched the apple right off the pile. He quickly tucked the fruit under his opposite shoulder and continued walking in a casual pace.

A few steps later he listened for anything that would indicate somebody saw him. For a good while, he didn't here anything. He was sure the next moment that someone would be screaming at him but when the moment came and went nothing happened. Nobody noticed. He was safe.

He allowed himself to think he had gotten away, that he was successful. His lips started to curve slightly when he heard several thumping sounds; he could tell they weren't footsteps, too many at one time. He made the mistake of stopping and turning around to see what it was. It was mostly his paranoia that made that decision however the logical part of his mind told him to simply keep walking away. He found the source of the thumping sound. The green apples from the stall he took the apple from had suddenly collapsed to the ground, almost the whole pile.

That was what almost everyone around the boy noticed. The people, including the vendor himself and the customer, looked towards where the apples had sprawled onto the ground. For a moment, most were quiet. Then, the vendor's eyes caught something to the side. The vendor spotted the boy and noticed that he was hiding something under his shoulder. The boy moved slightly enabling the vendor to see what he was hiding and saw that it was a fresh green apple. The vendor put two and two together almost instantaneously.

"Ladro!" exclaimed the Vendor, pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

The boy in turn noticed, looked up at the vendor with fearful eyes, and did the first thing he always did in situations like these. He ran.

The boy swiftly turned and dashed down the crowded market place. The vendor tried to give chase but as soon as he went around his stall, he actually slipped on his own fallen apples and fell on his back. No one else bothered to go after the boy but he kept running nonetheless, convinced that there was someone after him. Someone was always after him.

He was so panicked that he kept on bumping into several of the people shopping in the market. He tripped and fell every so often and drew attention to himself. But he soon got up from his falls and kept on running anyway. He was too panicked that when he bumped into someone he actually dropped the apple he had. He never noticed. Eventually he ran down an alley where nobody followed him. He hid behind a pile of ole wooden crates and rested against the wall. He let himself slide down until he was sitting on the stony ground.

It was then that he did notice the apple missing.

He felt upset, even felt like crying a bit. But he wasted so many tears over the years that he thought he couldn't spare any more. So he simply huddle his knees to his chest, wrapped his hand around his legs and softly laid his head on his legs. It was a typical day. Wandering, stealing food, getting chased…very typical day. He thought he had gotten used to it a year ago. But he still felt like crap at the end of every single day. In the silent alley, the only noise was of his stomach growling.

"Shut up," he said to his own stomach.

He remained in that spot and didn't move. Eventually, his stomach growled again.

"Shut up," he said again.

A whole three minutes or so passed by. His stomach growled.

"Shut the hell up!" he exclaimed.

He raised his fist in the air and considered driving his it into his stomach when he suddenly noticed that something was gently pressed against it. He instinctively grabbed at whatever was touching his hand before looking up. When he did look up, he saw an old woman standing before him. She was wearing a dark blu coat over a pink dress. She wore simple looking sandals on her feet, a beagle hat on her head, and walked with a cane. Her long gray hair was tied in two braided strands.

"Hungry?" asked the old woman in a pleasant voice.

The boy then looked at what was being handed to him. It was a bright green apple. The old woman's hands left the apple and allowed the boy to hold it on his own. The boy looked at it strangely for a few moments before his stomach growled again. Without so much as a second thought, the boy dug his teeth into the apple. He took a large bite and nearly choked on it from rushing to swallow it. He devoured the apple in only a few seconds; he didn't even bother avoiding the core of it. When the fruit was completely gone, he breathed heavily.

He looked up at the old woman for a moment or two and said nothing. But the woman just kept looking down on him with a smiling face. The boy didn't know what to do and for a while the two only stared at each other.

"How did you get here?" asked the boy eventually.

"Same way you did," answered the old woman. "I walked…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

STAR Labs, Toronto.

STAR Labs was, by now, a well known research organization that everyone even remotely interested in science knew the name of. STAR Labs, short fo Science and Technology Research Laboratories, is probobly the single largest source of advanced scientific knowledge this world has ever seen. It was built by scientist, for scientists, uncorrupted by the views of governments and other such organizations and exists solely for the purpose of pursuing scientific knowledge.

Though located mainly in the mainland of the United States of America, STAR Labs has notebly also spread itself beyond America's borders. Today, it maintains several branches in Europe, Australia, Japan, and that ever friendly neighbor to the north, Canada. It is here in the northern part of the continenet that we focus our attention to, the STAR Labs Toronto Brach with specialization in mechanical engineering.

The particular branch was establish early during the century, actually becoming Canada's first STAR Labs brach to built in the new melenium. It's closest neighboring branches were the Montreal and the Ottawa Branches, each with there own specializations in Natural Sciences and Geography respectively. The Toronto Branch was however the largest facility of them all, and with upcoming expansion plans, will become the largest in North America.

Mostly, the toils of the great number of scientific minds, who are a part of the organization, has gone mostly to the purposes of serving man which really has been always the true objective of STAR Labs, and all of science actually, from the start. But every once in a while, there area lways thos people who think they have better things to do with what hundreds of scientist give there all to create or discover. Unfortunately, some of these better things usually entail something of a rather fiendish nature.

Unfortunately for everyone, today was one of those days.

In the rear of the facility there was garage designated for incoming and outgoing convoys that carried valuable supplied to and from the large facility. The branch had its own fleet of specialized vehicles to do all this for them, some ranging from the size of an avaerage family van while others can be full blown eighteen-wheelers pullung with them, specially designed containers. Naturally, this was one of the more heavily guarded sections of the facility. You never know when somebody will try to smuggle something in or out of the place, and with a facility like STAR Labs, that is a huge concern, if not the primary concern, for security.

It was during the crisp night when people's breaths would turn white as they exhaled. Guards were patroling their ususal routes as they have probobly hundreds of times a month. It was getting late so it was unlikely any more deliveries coming in or out was to be expected. But, surprise surprise, a solitary delivery truck decided to pull up to the gate. It wasn't that big a truck, just a medium sized delivery truck. However what did strike the guards in the gatehouse as unusual was the fact that the truck was alone. Trucks from STAR Labs almost never travel alone in the day, and it was virtually unheard of at night. And even if a delivery required a single delivery vehicle, the minimum nuber in any convoy is three vehicles since there were always two escort vehicles in every convoy.

But this truck was completely alone as it stopped at the gate.

One of the guards followed procedure and walked out of the gatehouse while his partner stayed and watched everything via a security monitor. Subconciously, the guard who went placed his hand on the standard Glock 22 pistol in the holster attached to his belt. He stepped up to the driver's side of the truck and knocked lightly on the widow. "Hey, open up."

The driver's window went down with whizzing sound. The guard strained to see anybody in the unusually dark compartment of the truck. He could barely make out the driver's silouette. "Can I see your clearance, please?"

For a second, nothing happened. Then, out of the dark truck cabin, the driver turned his head towards the guard outside. The guard saw a man dressed in a strange white suit wearing an even stranger mask that covered his entire head. The guard first considered the possibility that this was a joke or something gut then, before he knew it, was actually pullinghis pistol out of his holster. He would've aimed at the driver and ordered him to identify himself, if only he had not been knocked unconscious by a sudden impact to the back of his head accompanied by a generous surge of stunning electricity.

The guard fell to the floor unconscious. The driver in the white suit looked to the spot immediately behind the guard and found a man dressed in a tight-fitting bodysuit colored balck and was also weraring a strange mask, slightly diferent from the driver's own. The man was holding a sparking metal rod that he used to knock the guard out. The driver simply gave the strange figure an approving nod and the figure nodded back. At that point the second guard burst out of the gatehouse with his own Glock held ready.

"Alright, hands on your heads!" the guard eclaimed. The driver and the black-suited man simply stared at him.

"I said put you hands on y--"

The guard fell unconscious right alongside his partner. Next to the door of the gatehouse another similarly dressed thin man in a black suit and holding a similar weapon. All three of the strangely dressed men nodded approvingly to each other. The two black-suited men then snuck away into the shadows. The driver then casually drove the truck inside the compound.

As it moved across the parking lot, the truck naturally grabbed the attention of the patrolling guards who naturally moved to check out the situation. However anyone who got too close met the same fate as the guards from the gatehouse, knocked out with a stunner rod by the very shrewd and sneaking, black-suited henchmen. The truck kept on driving forward into the facility as if looking for some kind of entrance. The driver eventually settled on a garage near the southeast of the facility.

As the truck came to a stop, the driver jumped out of the cabin and went towards the garage door and simply stood there, waiting. The two black-suited henchmen stood behind him and none of them moved for a good long time. After what was about half-a-minute, the garage door opened on its own. The white-suited driver and his two black-suited colleagues cam face to face with two more black-suited henchmen from inside the garage.

Unbeknownst to all of them, up on a roof of a tall building several blocks away, See-More, member of the HIVE Five, watched with his special robotic eye. Using his eye's special telescopic fuctyions, he could clearly monitor as the strange looking henchmen marched straight into the garage door in the back of facility. He reached for his HIVE communicator.

"This is See-More," he said into it.

"What's your report?" replied Fallacy's voice.

"Gizmo's dirt was on the money. Looks like the party can get started now."

"Excellent…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's notes: Man, I wish I could finish these things faster. But, what can you do, school's important too ya know. Well anyway, see ya'll next time. Pls. R&R!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The usual drabble: Teen Titans aren't mine.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Titans Tower. A long time ago.

Five of the would-be six Titans were gathered in the main room simply lounging around, laid back, relaxed and calm. Or in the case of Beast Boy, tense, paranoid, and just about ready to loose it. He paced the room constantly, much to the slight annoyance of his teammates. The way he saw it however, he had good reason to be in an all-crazy-and-paranoid mood that was usually reserved for Robin on certain occasions. Terra had gone to get herself cleaned up after the Titans just had a messy spar session. She said she would be back in thirty minutes. Beast Boy started getting paranoid at thirty minutes and two seconds.

"So, where's Terra," Beast Boy asked to no one in particular.

"Relax, Beast Boy," said Robin, "she said to meet in thirty minutes and it's only been--"

"Thirty-one minutes and forty-five seconds!" interrupted Beast Boy. "Forty-six…Forty-seven…Forty-eight…Forty-nine…"

To the side Raven was mediating quietly trying her best to ignore the changeling while Cyborg and Starfire watched with slight amusement and worry at Beast Boy's insistent counting of the time. "Man, oh man!" said Cyborg. "He's got it bad!"

Starfire raised a finger to Cyborg so to raise a question. "Is this the "bad" meaning "good" variety of bad?"

"Uh, no, It's actually "bad" meaning _"bad,"_ but…it's really a good thing in this case.

Just then The Titan's giant monitor came to life with a familiar image and a chilling voice. "Did someone say they were looking for Terra?"

Robin was halfway turning his head to the monitor when he already knew who the voice and the image was. He announced it out loud as if the world needed more reminding of who that person was "Slade!"

Next to Robin, the rest of the Titans turned their full attention to the screen I front of them. Starfire gasped as she saw that Slade's image has taken over the whole screen. She could feel the piercing glare of his one single eye as he stared sown at them, as if declaring his superiority.

"What have you done to Terra?" Beast Boy practically screamed the question.

Slade's demeanor remained calm and cool. "Look for the ticking time bomb at the football stadium."

Beast Boy turned to his teammates. He's got Terra! You heard him…Teen Titans…GO!"

It took the team less than five minutes to get from the tower to the stadium though they were sure that if it was only Beast Boy, he would've gotten there in less than two. They didn't bother knocking at the door. The decided to just fly over the wall and land right in the middle of the field. Knowing Slade, they knew that no one else would be there. Slade was the personal type, isolating his prey from the rest of the world before revealing himself. He would strike at them when he had them all to himself. That was part of what made Slade a genius, as well as the sadistic monster he was known for being.

The Titans in a small concentrated circle in the middle of the field, right at the fifty-yard line, with their backs to each other. They already looked to be ready for a fight, which they knew was all too inevitable.

"We got here fast enough," said Robin, "but now what?"

""I'm scanning the area for explosive devices…" said Cyborg.

"Where's Terra?" exclaimed Beast Boy, "We have to find Terra!"

Just then, the big screens standing over the seats came to life with the image of Slade. Even with a single-eyes mask, he had the look of a man who had absolute control of the situation. It was admirable and scary at the same time.

"What now Robin?" he asked rhetorically. "Why, now it's time to welcome the visiting team."

As Slade said this, a whored of his familiar slade-bots charged out into the field, limbs raised and ready for battle. The Titans turned in their direction and readied themselves with Raven and Starfire gathering black and green energy in their hands, Cyborg readying his sonic cannon, Beast Boy transforming into a tiger, and Robn getting ready to issue orders.

"Oh it's gonna be like that, huh?" said Cyborg.

"No problem!" exclaimed Robin confidently.

"I admire your confidence," said Slade, calm as usual, "but wait…Did you think you would be playing the role of _home_ team?"

At that point, a large group of hive-bots, big mechanical ogres with armored hides and pincers, came rushing out the opposite end of the stadium. They all looked like they wanted a piece of the Titans who in turn looked a bit baffled by the sudden increase in foes.

"Oh, my dear children," continued Slade, "that's not whyI have brought you here. You're here to…how shall I put this…be the ball! So prepare to be kicked around!"

Both the slade-bots and hive-bots charged in on the small group of super teenagers. After that, the usual chaos ensued.

Up in a secrete room somewhere nearby, Slade was comfortable watching the "game" on a set of monitors that fed video coming from the his robot commandos. He watched with an observing eye as each Titan managed to hold their own with and without their fellow Titans. Only when they were more or less isolated in a fight of their own would slade grant them full attention. He wanted to see how they fought, what was they're style, and more importantly, what was their weakness. Soon separate monitors focused on separate Titans as the battle ensued.

"Slade looked at the monitor showing Robin. "I'm familiar with this one's hyper-competitiveness and obsessive drive to win…very familiar."

Slade looked at the monitor showing Starfire. "And what did you call her again? "sweet and innocent?" I'd call it naïve and gullible, but nonetheless it's something that can be exploited."

Slade looked at the monitor showing Raven and Cyborg. "I need to learn more about those two--"

Slade looked at the monitor showing Beast Boy. "--but this one's weakness is as plain as the mask on his face."

On the monitor, Beast Boy was screaming: "Titans! We have to find Terra!"

Under the mask, Slade couldn't help but smile.

From behind him: "Shouldn't I be out there helping them?"

Slade looked behind him and looked towards his apprentice, Terra. She was looking down solemnly on the floor not meeting his one-eyed gaze. Slade moved slowly towards his ward and gently placed two fingers underneath her chin and lightly lifted her face so that Terra and he were looking at each other straight. Her big china-blue eyes had no emotion in them as she stared up at her master.

"You're right," he said to her. "We wouldn't want them to become suspicious."

Terra didn't reply and turned around with almost no hesitation. Slade would later evaluate this as too little hesitation on her part. Terra donned her trademark goggles and rushed right out of the room to save her teammates. To save her "friends."

The moment Terra was gone, Slade turned back to the screen and watched the screens showing the Titans in action. He thought back to what he told to the Teen titans in order to entice them into coming to the station. Find the bomb, he remembered saying. Of course there was no bomb, not at the stadium. But the bomb he planted was closer to the Titans that they ever knew and it was counting down.

Underneath the mask, Slade smiled. "Tick. Tick. Tick."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Jump City. Present day.

His PDA rang again so he answered it.

"Hello?" greeted Watcher.

"Oh, good, your not dead yet," greeted back the same familiar voice.

"I'll be angry at that later.

"Yo, hotshot. Got some interesting info you might be interested in."

"Oh, really?" asked Watcher.

"I'm gonna get you, you little turd!" exclaimed a voice neither of the two knew.

"Who's that?" asked the girl on the PDA.

"Uh, I'll call you back okay, Sil?"

Watcher pocketed away his PDA into his jacket and turned towards a very bulky man who was wearing a lot of leather and a ski mask on his head and charging at Watcher while armed with a long metal pipe. The bulky man swung at Watcher who expertly ducked. Watcher easily tripped the man by extending is foot towards the man's path. The man tripped on Watcher's foot and tumbled awkwardly before falling flat on his face. The bulky man fell among several other unconscious or semi-conscious men that riddled the floor.

Watcher took a quick glance around to remind himself o where he is and his situation which was interrupted by his friend's phone call. He was inside some warehouse near the harbors where a malicious gang was known to be hiding out in. The gang was known to use several high-tech weaponry that they supposedly bought from Professor Chang on a regular basis. He got there, started taking names, and the next thing he knew all hell broke loose. Typical really.

Looking around, he could see the last four men still standing. They surrounded him. Each of them was armed with a make-shift blunt weapon like a bat or a pipe. They all looked primed to charge in. Watcher stood calm and raised both his hands to about chest height for the four men to see. He motioned with his fingers for them to come at him while he wore a confident grin on his face.

"Alright," he said to them, "which one of you fruitcakes wants to ask me out first."

One of the men charge at Watcher with all the grace of a runaway locomotive. The young teen was every bit prepared however. As the first once came at him with a tire iron, Watcher easily sidestepped to the right as the man swung down. The man missed completely and was left vulnerable after the swing. Watcher saw an opportunity and spun around to the man's back.

While behind the man, the young teen used his hand to grab at the man's shoulder blade and gripped hard, earning a pained yelp from the thug. Watcher yanked his shoulder forcing the man's upper body to bend back awkwardly. At the same time Watcher swung his leg forward and kicked the both of the thug's feet from behind sending the man's lower body to jump forward awkwardly. At one point the combination of the low kick and the high yank left the thug hanging horizontally in mid-air. Still moving the leg he used to kick the man's feet Watcher brought it up over the thug's stomach and slammed the unfortunate thug to the floor, knocking the wind out of him.

Watcher calmly walked away from the body of the now unconscious gang member and continued motioning for the others to come at him if they dared. They did dare and they soon found it to be a stupid decision. Two of the men charged at him at the same time, baring their arms high. Not that it helped them in any way. The first to reach Watcher swung high. Watcher ducked. The second to reach him swung low. Watcher easily leapt into the air to not only avoid the strike but deliver his own strike using his foot the gang member's face. The second thug fell to the floor for a moment. In that moment, the fist thug turned around and charged back at Watcher.

The young teen smirked confidently. These guys were so predictable the fight was barely enjoyable anymore. As the man swung down with his blunt weapon, which was an ordinary baseball bat, Watcher expertly reached up to grab the man's hand holding the bat. All it took was a slight twist to one side while holding the proper nerves on the wrist to cause the man to yelp in pain and his hand go limp and drop the bat. Watcher finished off with a hard elbow to th face, knocking the man unconscious instantly. The thug fell on his back.

Meanwhile, the second thug that fell first from the kick to the face was just getting back up. As soon as the man was on his feet, Watcher was already at him with a knee to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He fell back the floor, fully knocked out by the loss of air in his lungs and the shock to his organs.

Watcher turned to the last man still standing. He was still standing at the same spot holding his weapon, an old golf club, with now trembling hands. Watcher grinned at the man and tilted his head to the side as if to say to him 'now what're you gonna do?' in a non-verbal way. The man told himself that he wouldn't be as dumb as his fellow gang members by just charging at the guy. It was quite obvious at that point that the strange teen was very much capable of standing his ground when they went up close and personal. As a matter of fact, Watcher barely moved from the spot where he was standing in since the fight started.

The thug decided to go with a different approach. He dropped his golf club and ran to the side but he wasn't escaping. He reached a pile of old crates and yanked the lid of one and reached in. He pulled out what looked to be a very futuristic looking gun. Without even looking he pointed the gun to where he remembered where Watcher was standing and fired. The gun shot out a bright plasma beam that cut through the air and completely decimated the pile of old wooden crates in the far side of the room. Never did the beam hit Watcher. The thug was baffled to learn why. The teen had disappeared.

He stood still for a moment simply blinking in confusion. What the thug wasn't noticing at that particular point was that Watcher was slowly phasing out of the floor in his intangible state right behind the thug with all the noise of a feather falling on cotton. After solidifying himself again, Watcher delivered a quick and efficient chop to the back of the thugs head. The thug was knocked-out and face flat on the floor before he even felt the blow.

Watcher walked around the unconscious thug and picked up the futuristic weapon. He recognized it from one of his research files. It was a common item that the infamous Professor Chang sold regularly to his more small-time clients when he worked at Jump City. The energy based weapon was supposed to be a prototype for military special fores but R&D budgets went through the roof and the project was scrapped. Chang picked up where they left off since he knew that those crazy take-over-the-world types were more than willing to pay tat extra buck to ensure their men had superior firepower.

This must've been surplus, Watcher figured, seeing that even a lowly street gang was able to get a hold of them now. Maybe this gang had some major sponsors. Lately he'd been learning about big businessmen who hired gangs to do dirty work. That or Chang must've had one heck of a clearance sale just before he left the city.

Watcher held the gun tightly in his hand and concentrated. While he did this rarely, the skill of being able to control what's tangible and what's not came in handy sometimes. He concentrated and turned the outer casing completely intangible. He was able to see the inside of the gun easily. He reached with his other hand and grabbed the inner parts of the gun and simply pulled them out from the now intangible casing. He threw the empty casing away and proceeded to the inner parts. Step by step he dismantled the gun completely. A regular guy would've needed special tools and schematics to do what Watcher just did so effortlessly.

With that taken care of, Watcher returned to another urgent business. He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out his PDA and dialed.

"So, have enough fun?" was the first thing the girl on the other said as soon as she answered.

Watcher shook his head as if the girl could see him do so. "I was doing my job."

"How so?"

"I got info that there was a local gang who bought weapons from Chang. I checked it out and it turned out to be a dead end."

"Oh and speaking of info, I go some for you."

"What?"

" Toronto ."

Watcher looked slightly confused. " Toronto ? That's it? If your gonna mention some random city name the least you could do is make sure it's an interesting one. Why not London , or Athens , or Manila , or Moscow , heck I'll even take Hallow City--"

"Will you knock it off! You want something interesting about Toronto ? How about the fact that Chang's men were recently spotted there?"

Watcher's face turned serious. "Really? Well that's interesting. Why would they be there?"

"Not sure but they just broke in to the STAR Labs branch in Toronto ."

"STAR labs?" Watcher was familiar with the name. The famous STAR Labs where the greatest of what science has to offer are produced. He also knew from a faint memory that the Toronto branch specialized in mechanical engineering. What could Chang have stolen from that place? A machine of some kind or part of?

"Do you know what they took?" Watcher asked.

"You know STAR. Everything is being kept under wraps. Especially since there was more than one party who broke in."

"What? Who else was there?"

"Take a guess. Who else wants Chang?"

Watcher took less than a second to find an answer. "The HIVE Five…"

"Bingo."

Watcher was silent for a long moment. So the HIVE Five are closer to Chang now than he could've predicted. Things were getting out of hand. He was supposed to be one step ahead of everyone fro the beginning. At the start, that was true. But now, things were getting out of his control. He knew this wasn't the first time. Things have gone a bit misguided in the past and he always managed to rectify those little mistakes. He regained control eventually, making the situation stable.

But this was different.

The people he was dealing with were nothing like his previous assignments. The HIVE Five and their new addition were hardly what anybody would call normal. Chang was no walk in the park either. Terrorist groups and overzealous cults he could handle and have handled in the past. There was also the thing that was at stake.

With what was at stake, he was surprised that only his team was called into this assignment. There should've been more on this. But he knew why only his team was called in. His team, particularly himself, specialized in observing and that was what was really needed at the time. They didn't want to stir a panic among the people inside and outside their ranks. They would check and see if there really is anything to panic about before charging in head-on. They had to confirm the threat. They always did. And they always sent his team first to see if there was a threat. Sometimes he and his team would take care of it themselves. They were more than capable of doing so most of the time. But now he wasn't so sure anymore if he could handle this alone.

"Hey, you still there," called back the girl on the PDA.

This snapped Watcher out of his train of thought. "Yeah."

"What do we do?"

"The situation is no longer in containment. I'm gonna have to do something drastic. I'm gonna go after Chang and the HIVE Five. Right now, they should be our top priority. We have to confirm the threat as soon as possible."

"Agree, but…you're going in alone?"

"It's certainly an option."

"Don't. You'll only get yourself killed. You're tough, Watcher, but not invincible. You have more experience than me and I would think you would know this very well by now. You're suppose to be smarter than this, you know? Plus, remember that you and I are not the only ones in _November_. I can call in one of the others and send help. Even they're busy with something else I'm sure they'll understand the severity of the situation."

"Yes I know that. And I only said going in alone was just an option. That wasn't the first thing I considered."

"Then what was the first thing you considered?"

"Isn't it obvious? We have next to nil when it comes to information regarding Chang and the HIVE Five. Going at them alone is a bad idea, I know. Calling on other _November_ team members won't do us much good. But there is at least one more entity in this situation that I can call to our side who knows a whole lot more on Chang and those HIVE guys."

There was a short silence from the other line. "…The Teen Titans…You're thinking of approaching them."

"It's not the first time we've done some outsourcing."

"But…you're a new face to them. They won't trust you outright. Are you sure you don't have any other options? Maybe you can find somebody else who knows both Chang and the HIVE to help you."

"Are you volunteering then?"

Nothing but silence from the other line. Watcher partially scolded himself for that comment. He should've known better given who he was talking to. But time was something he didn't have. They needed help and he they needed it fast. More importantly, they needed help from those who were willing to give it. But he was not heartless and inconsiderate. Watcher knew better than to force his teammate to help him, knowing what she's going through. In he's own way, he could relate to what she was going through.

"Look," he continued. "I told you that I know what you're going through. I even promised to help you out. But the past is the past. It's over and done with. We cannot change it. We have to focus on the present and do what is necessary to keep safe what is most important. I know you're not particularly cool with my decisions but my choices…our choices…are running slim. You understand that, don't you…Silicis?"

He waited the long while before she finally replied. "Yeah."

"Then can I count on your support for this descision?"

"Well, whatever's best for the world, right."

He didn't bother to press whether that was a real yes or no. "Alright. Thanks for the info again. I'll update you when I can."

"One last thing…Just remember what I said. Don't give them a reason to hate you."

"I'll remember that."

"Oh, and good luck."

"I'll need it…we all will…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Four years ago.

She ran. Confused and scared she had little else to think about doing but running. She continued running away from the car she stole and left it right there in the middle of London bridge along with him. She passed the now empty patrol car of the officer that was still treading water somewhere below. She went down the street pass the man she nearly ran over no less than a fifteen minutes ago. Her heart was pounding, Her muscles felt like they were being stretched. Her joints felt like they were tightening up.

She had never been this genuinely scared in her life.

She ran for who knows how long before she took refuge in a dark alley. She walked through the dark alley. With complete absence of light, she could barely see where she was going and managed to knock over a trash can. A cat that was foraging inside the trash can jumped out with a high-pitched shriek startling the girl and causing her to fall on her butt. She quickly got up and steadied her nerves. She didn't need them any more tenser than they already were, that's for sure. She momentarily considered giving the stupid feline a nightmare but decided to just leave the ally finding it too dark a place to be going into.

She turned around and made for the entrance of the alley. Only after a few steps towards the entrance was when here heart froze.

"Hello my dear," said Brother Blood as he stood at the entrance of the alley.

The girl was completely still for what she thought was forever and so did the man who called himself Brother Blood. Eventually she took a step back. Brother Blood didn't move. She took two more steps back and yet he remained still. The girl kept stepping backwards faster now. She continued to watch the unmoving Brother Blood as he grew farther and farther away from when her but because of this she forgot about the trash can she tipped earlier. Her legs met the fallen trash can and she fell over it and on her butt once again.

The sting of the fall caused her to clamp her eyes shut for but a split second as she gave out a mild yelp of pain. The moment she opened her eyes again and looked up, Brother Blood was standing no less than five feet from where she lay. She went wide-eyed and her heart skipped a bit. She was now practically crawling backwards scraping her butt on the dirty ground. She finally got back up and got back her nerve.

She looked at the man directly in the eye and, out of pure desperation, tried to project her illusions on the man one more time. Brother Blood saw this and sighed exasperatingly. "Haven't you tried that already?"

The girl ignored him as her eyes glowed bright. But then, the exact same thing that happened on the bridge happened again. The mental recoil caused the girl to throw her head back and scream in pain.

"Aaaaarrrrgh!!"

She fell to her knees. She clasped her head with both hands. It felt like it was going to explode. Her breathing was heavy and rushed. Sweat poured from her brow tears streamed from her wide-as-dinner-plates eyes. Brother Blood stood still observing the young girl. He shook his head in genuine disappointment.

"And here I thoought you'd be smarter than this," he said to her.

She looked up at him with fearful eyes. "Who are you?"

"I already told you. I'm Brother Blood."

"Why are you after me? What have I ever done to you?"

"My dear, it's not what you think. I come here without any hostilities."

"Whatever it is you want, I've got nothing to do with it. Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that..."

"Just Leave me alone!"

With that she ran down the dark alley, something she reconsidered doing just a while ago but now so little other choice but to do so. Behind her, Brother Blood didn't move an inch and instead sighed exasperatingly again. The girl had spirit at least, he thought to himself.

Down the dark alley, the girl moved with considerably high speed. The darkness was still hard to navigate and she found herself tripping and knock over thing a lot. She didn't care. All that mattered was that she could get away from that man. That scary man who could nullify her powers and throw them back at her. Her fear was the only thing pushing her now. She couldn't fight him. She couldn't ope to win. She had to run.

She eventually found an exit out of the alley and got back onto the street. As she got into the middle of the road a car horn honked to her side. She looked in that direction and saw an incoming car turn away from her at the last second and crash into a nearby storefront triggering an alarm. The frightened girl stared with a racing heart at the scene of the crash. The car had completely wedged its front half into the storefront and the shattered widow pieces littered the street. The alarm was blaring noisily echoing down the empty street which didn't stay empty for long.

Soon people started waking up to the sound of the alarm and peering their heads out of the darkness of the night to investigate the commotion. The girl was getting more nervous now. This was the last thing she needed. She was surprised when a kind bystander walked up to her from behind.

"Are you alright girly?" asked the kind man.

She didn't answer but instead got back up to her feet and shoved him away as she dashed past him. She eventually got away from the scene, the crowds of curious people. And, she hoped, that man with the name of Brother Blood. Simply running away was tiring her out. She wasn't used to running like this. Heck, she wasn't used to running period. It should have been her that was in control of the situation. It has always been that way throughout the years. What was different now? What had gone wrong?

She didn't care to get an answer. She was too busy feeling scared.

Eventually she manged to reach the park. In the middle of the night, the park was the last place anybody wanted to be. No problem for her. She's been through here before at hours like this. She could take whatever lowlife that decided she was too beautiful to ignore. They all got horrible nightmares that most likely left them traumitized for life. She found it unusual that the park was actually empty.

"Tired yet?"

The voice that came from no less than three feet behind her sent a freezing chill down her spine. She couldn't move. Her legs refused to follow her orders to run. And even if she could run, a part of her mind was already convinced that it was only a waste of effort. She didn't even bother turning around to see who it was.

"What are you gonna do to me?" she asked, on the verge of tears.

Brother Blood gently placed his hands or her shoulder. "To make you stronger than you could ever imagine..."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

STAR Labs, Torornto

Walking into the labs was relatively easy for the white-suited henchman. Everything had already been prepared several hours prior to the actual break-in. They picked this day because it was a day-off. They picked this hour because of the minimal security. They picked this facility because only it contained what they really required. The white-suited henchman, along with a couple of black-suits as escorts, moved with confidence across the metallic halls of the LABS. The security system was disabled long ago so it wasn't a problem.

The white-suited captain of the bunch pulled out what looked like a miniature laptop computer. He flipped it open and looked through the digitally displayed map on the screen. He scanned it once to check on where his party was and their intended destination. Two more turns to the right and they would be there. He pocketed away the device and continued onwards, his escorts in tow.

Eventually, they reached their destination in the form of really big double doors elading to a room which. From the plaque above the doors, was named "experimental components rm 3". It was naturally locked. The captain was naturally indifferent. No problem. He saw the lock access panel to the side. He hack it in less than twenty seconds. This was his specialty.

The doors were soon open and access was given to the small party of three. They walked into the room and turned on the lights.

It was an incredibly large space, enough for a bus to drive around in. All over were nothing but machines, or at least their components. Tools were strewn across the dozens of tables used to work on by the many brilliant minds that worked for STAR Labs. Most prominent of the room's features however were the already aforementioned machines and mechanical wonders that only the most imaginative sci-fi buff could come-up with. Anyone who walked into that room at that moment would probably think they just walked in to Dr. Frankenstein's playroom.

Again, the captain of the henchmen was indifferent. He took out his mini PC once again and opened a new file in it. Now it was down to business. He had a shopping list to complete.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: More to come as soon as I get some free time and fix this stupid bug in my PC. In the meantime, ples. R&R!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: You know the drill…

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Twenty-four years ago.

Deep down in the underground chamber, now lit with a rather eerie green glow thanks to all of the glow sticks spread about on the floor, the group of explores lead by the three scientists Dr. Cannes, Dr, Volkov, and Professor Chang took a good long look at their now clearly visible surroundings.

"Simply amazing," said Chang. "Can you believe this?"

"Indeed, my friend," said Volkov. "Who knows what else could lie in these depths? There has to be something else other than this chamber."

"I don't see any doors or passageways leading anywhere else. At least, none that is obvious. Why do you suppose that?"

"Maybe this chamber wasn't meant to be found. Whatever it is."

"What is it exactly?" asked their guide and escort, Evans.

"It looks like some kind of temple, or shrine. Someplace sacred. I can't tell with any certainty. What do you say, Doctors?"

"Well…" said Cannes, "let's make some observations."

Cannes took a moment to look around the room himself first to make some rudimentary theories. He searched systematically by looking in four main directions: north, east, south, then west. He took in what he saw and drew pictures in his head at what the giant chamber might have been used for when it was actually useful during whatever era that might be. He got some ideas after a minute or two of quiet contemplation.

Around him, the rest of the group also looked around but having less knowledge of such thing themselves, found there own ideas wanting. They settled on waiting for the good Doctor to finish whatever he was contemplating. Evans got a little impatient after Cannes' fourth minute of contemplation.

"Have anything yet, Doc?" she asked.

Cannes turned to all of them. "Yes, I believe I do."

Cannes turned to one side of the room. "Look there," he said, pointing to one side of the chamber which, according to the compass on his wristwatch, was the east side. "And look there," he said pointing to the opposite direction which would be the west side. The strange bunch looked in both directions as Dr. Cannes pointed out. Both sides were similar in once aspect. Standing close to the wall were three statues, making six in total for both sides, of the strange creatures that once inhabited the ancient city they were in. The statues themselves, each larger than life and looking exactly like the others, seemed to have a common theme of their own.

"Can you tell anything about those statues?" asked Dr. Cannes to everyone in general. "Anything common about them or familiar."

"Aren't those the same things we saw upstairs?" asked one of the men.

"Well, yes but take a closer look. Do they have some kind of theme? Something that distinguishes them?"

The men did so. They seemed to have found out what the Doctor was talking about. Each statue was the same a tall alien-like creature clothed in some kind of heavy looking garments that looked too heavy for everyday use. One could say that the heavy garments were some sort of body armor. It would have been logical to think it was armor as each of the creatures carried a long pole, slightly taller than the creatures themselves, which all ended in a strange oblong shaped blade. These poles would lead someone to think that they were spears o some kind.

"They're…soldiers?" said one of the men.

"Well, that's what I think," replied Cannes. "Because the creatures are sculpted all the same, I don't think they were anything special if they were alive. The creatures do seem to be holding something that's sort of a spear. Plus their clothing looks too thick to be casual. They might be some kind of warriors. Or perhaps…more specifically…guardians."

"Guardians?" asked Chang, now very interested.

"Well...Look around you some more. There" Cannes pointed to the north side of the chamber. On that side, there was an unusual structure. The entire wall that occupied a quarter of the whole space was on gigantic wall sculpture like that of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. But even the ancient Egyptians couldn't have made something like what the party was seeing. With hieroglyphics, it was a system of individual pictures to form language. But the wall was not hieroglyphics. Instead, the wall was more like an artwork, a series of drawings etched in stone as if so that the story it told would last for ages, and it did. The men analyzed the rock drawings carefully and studied what it showed knowing that the knowledge it had was thousands of years old.

There were six carved drawings in total, crafted with moderate detail but nothing artsy, designed to deliver the point at best. Cannes, after looking at the pictures and considering carefully, decided that the story started from the first scene on the left.

The first carving showed a simple scene of a number of creatures dancing around a sphere of some kind that was labeled with a single symbol that was basically two vertical lines intersected by a long horizontal line near the top and a small comma-like slash below the lower right angle created by the intersecting lines. Cannes first thought that the creatures were dancing. Or maybe they weren't dancing. Maybe they were praying, or simply there was something about that sphere that the creatures found very interesting. Or perhaps, intimidating. There was another thing that stuck out in the scene. On the upper part of the drawing, one of the creatures was dressed oddly, again the drawing was not that detailed but it was enough to distinguish it from the rest. The oddly dressed creature, a priest or something similar perhaps, raised its hands over the sphere as if it was creating the sphere.

The second drawing showed a small group of the creatures carrying the large sphere. The priest, Cannes supposed it was safe to all it that, was also in the picture, leading the people behind it to somewhere. The third drawing was a direct sequel to the second. The creatures had reached their apparent destination. The giant sphere was no in some kind of pit that, judging by the drawing, was artificially made. The priest was once again there overseeing the whole thing as it happened happen.

In the fourth drawing, the pit where the sphere was dropped was apparently sealed and the sphere now rested in its own little box of a pit. Over the pit, the creatures were celebrating but the priest kept its reserve for some reason. Maybe it didn't feel like celebrating or maybe it knew thee wasn't really anything to celebrate. In the fifth drawing, the priest was the only creature left in the scene doing some more creating. At first, one would think that the priest wasn't in fact alone, but a closer look revealed that the six other creatures in the drawing, Cannes concluded after looking several times back and forth, were being created by the priest and were too similar to the same six statues in the east and west side of the chamber they were in to be anything else. In the fifth drawing, the "guardians" were being created.

The sixth and final drawing bared no resemblance to the rest. It was a drawing of mainly a large elaborately drawn circle with nine smaller circles inside of it arranged in a 3x3 diamond grid. Each smaller circle carried inside of it a unique symbol from a language long lost to time.

"Obviously, it's trying ton tell a story," said Cannes.

Everyone nodded in general agreement but Evans, being her curious little self, had to prod. "What kind of story?"

"Look at the fist one. Those things think that big circle is very important for some reason. They took it and put it into a large pit where it stayed. To be kept safe or to make sure it can never be retrieved. Who knows exactly? Then those things were created." Cannes pointed to the six statues on either side of the loose group. "They were created as if to somehow watch over the sphere, I'm assuming it's a sphere, and safeguard it."

"Wait," called out Chang, "How do you know that these statues and those in the carvings are the same?"

"Take a look at that last drawing on the right."

Everyone did so. Cannes then promptly turned around and pointed to something in the south side of the room. "Now, take a look at _that._"

Everyone did an about-face and looked towards the south. One look and everyone's jaw dropped except for Dr. Cannes who had seen enough. In the south side of the room was a strange altar like structure that occupied almost a quarter of the wall. There were ornate designs that made the altar prominent. But there was one thing about it that stood out among everything else. In the center of the alter was circle with nine smaller circles inside of it arranged in a 3x3 diamond grid. Each smaller circle carried inside of it a unique symbol in the exact same design as the carvings opposite of the altar.

"Now look down," said Cannes.

They did and their jaws dropped even more. On the floor at the very center, there was one last carving of a large circle with a symbol inside. A symbol that was two vertical lines intersected by a long horizontal line near the top and a small comma-like slash below the lower right angle created by the intersecting lines, same as the once in the carved drawings. Again, Cannes was the only one among the crowed who kept his reserve.

"What does this mean?" asked one of the men.

"I think I finally know the purpose of this place," said Cannes, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's not a temple or a shrine."

Everyone took a moment for what was just said to sink in. Chang was still trying to understand. "Then what is it?"

"That sphere," continued Cannes "has a lot of importance to these creatures, some kind of treasure perhaps. So much so that they built this place to keep it safe. Keep it from being retrieved or something. This floor--" he stomped on the rocky floor, "—might actually be the vault door. Those statues--" he pointed to either side of the group, "—are supposed to be the guardians of the treasure. An finally, that thing over there--" he pointed to the large circular structure in the middle of the altar in the south side, "—is the lock."

"The lock, you say?" asked Volkov.

"A combination lock as it would seem."

"Why would there be such a thing here?" asked Evans.

"Because this place…this place is…a vault."

That took a while to sink in. The group was silent for a while. None was more intrigued than Professor Chang. "A vault?"

"A vault to keep something safe."

"What something?"

"Well…that is the question, isn't it?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere north of Greenland.

The T-ship cruises at a modest altitude over the desolate, icy wasteland below. All across the view was nothing but a long stretch of a desert of ice and snow. With winter close by the winds have began to pick as of late. Snow was pilling up wherever it could and temperatures plummeted. Thankfully for the Titans, the T-ship's engines are snow-proof and the interior was nor without warm air-conditioning.

"For a land named with the color green," said Starfire from her pod in the port wing, "I do not see so much of the vibrant color that I would normally associate with healthy agricultural life."

"Well, Starfire," said Robin from the bow pod, "that was kinda the point in naming this place Greenland. False advertising from the old settlers to get more people to populate here."

"I would prefer if you earthlings would be more honest with your naming of lands."

"You should see the Iceland then."

"Eh?"

The brief conversation stopped after the T-ship suddenly jolted to the right. Robin got back control immediately before he ship had a chance to crash in the ice below. In a few seconds he managed to get the ship level again. From their cockpits, Robin and Starfire looked all the way to their right to the starboard pod which Kole and Gnarrk were currently occupying.

"Sorry about that," said Kole in apology.

"Gnarrrrrk," concurred Gnarrk.

Robin let out a long sigh. "Kole, Gnarrk, make sure you guys don't touch anything while you're in there, okay? We'll be reaching the spot soon."

On the way to their destination, Robin and Starfire had decided they needed some help. The place they were going to was unknown to them and it would've been nice to have someone who did know about the place they were going to. They thought about Kole and Gnarrk who were the people who originally brought the situation to the Titans' attention in the first place. Robin decided to call them up and they were glad to help. The two Titans made a slight detour and picked up the two honoraries from their prehistoric home.

The addition of Kole and Gnarrk was a welcomed one. The Titans knew they needed all the help they could get. Though reluctant to admit it, Starfire was not to pleased with the addition even though she had nothing against the two honoraries. She just wished she had more time alone with Robin.

Back at the present a blinking light on Robin's console caught the boy wonder's attention. "Correction," he said, "we're already here."

Robin worked at the controls to slow down the ship and slowly have it loose altitude. As the T-ship descended into the thick icy mist, the four Titans looked out their special frost-proof cockpit canopies to see the emerging profile of a large hole in the ground. It couldn't be described as anything else but a large hole in the ground. Kole and Gnarrk felt some familiarity to the sight while Robin and Starfire typically regarded the cave with curiosity and suspicion.

The T-ship gently touched down some several meters away from the cave entrance. All three of the occupied canopies opened up and the four Titans jumped out. All of them stood right in front of the large cave entrance, contemplating what could be inside. Well, at least Robin and Starfire were. Kole and Gnarrk saw plenty when they were last there but felt as though they missed more.

"So this is the place?" asked Robin to the two honoraries.

"Yup," answered Kole. "This is it."

Gnarrk grunted in agreement.

"Robin took out his communicator and activated the built in GPS function. He also reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo they had as a clue which led them to this place. The coordinates on the GPS screen matched the ones written on the back of the photo. Robin wasn't surprised.

"So it is the same place, like I thought."

Kole saw the photo with the numbers and got curious. "What's that?"

Starfire moved towards Kole and Gnarrk. "It is a photo taken by the Professor Chang, I believe."

"What?"

"When you contacted us about the strange visit of Professor Chang's henchmen to this place, we immediately started an investigation. We thought it was something that wasn't much of a concern but as time progressed more, stranger occurrences have brought the Titans to consider more required actions."

"What kind of occurrences?"

"Let's just say," interjected Robin, "that way too many people are taking interest in that old man."

"Wow, this must be bigger than I thought."

"It's bigger than what any of us thought. That's why it's important we get to the bottom of this as soon as we can before all hell breaks loose. Let's go. Kole I'm counting on you guys."

"Roger that!"

With that the group trotted into the cave with Kole and Gnarrk leading the way for Robin and Starfire.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nine years ago.

"Why are you still here?" asked the Boy, not bothering to turn around as he stopped walking down St. Mark's square. "Why are you still following me?"

"I am not following you," said the old lady behind him.

This prompted the boy to turn around and look at the old woman disbelievingly with one raised eyebrow. "You're _not_ following me?"

"I just happen to be going in the same direction you are."

The boy resisted all urges to pick up something and throw it at her. She had been following him for the past two days now, all throughout the city. He simply tried to ignore her at first but that became increasingly difficult by the hour as the woman was becoming more and more like his shadow. It bothered him the most when she didn't even bat an eye when he went back to the market and stole his dinner off another fruit stand. He was reluctant to do so since he knew she was right behind him the whole time but when it became necessary to steal, it freaked him out that she only smiled at him in return almost in a congratulating way.

He spent the better part of the last six hours just trying to loose her the old fashioned way: running around in random patterns in hopes of throwing her off the trail. He practically took her through a guided tour of the city by then. In the end however it was all for nothing as the old woman simply kept up with amazing vigorousness that was unbecoming of her assumed age which the boy didn't want to estimate in order not to be rude. Now, late into the afternoon, they ended up in St. Mark's Square, probably Italy's most famous spot for tourist. True enough; the place was full of tourist even in this season. People were gathered all over taking family pictures and what not.

The boy turned away from the old woman and went about in a more casual stroll. He didn't bother checking if the woman was behind him as he already knew the answer. He walked across the square for a minute or two before he realized how tired he was. Walking all over the city trying to loose an old woman was tiring indeed. He found a nice spot to sit right in front of St. Mark's Basilica which for some reason was closed off to the public that day. A sign outside that was written in Italian stated that there was some restoration work going on. He took a seat at the steps leading up the basilica and rested his head on hi knees. He felt himself drift slightly to sleep.

"Tired now are we?" said the old woman.

The boy looked up and saw that she was standing right in front of him. He didn't bother with formalities anymore. With the way she's been following him, she was as good as his mother. Not that he would know, he never really had a mother.

The boy sighed exasperatingly. "What is it exactly that you find so interesting about me?"

The old woman smiled back. "I'm just curious what a healthy young boy like you would be doing in the marketplace, stealing fruit."

"Why didn't you stop me then?"

"I was simply curious. I never said I wanted to stop you."

"What so interesting about me stealing from fruit cart. I have to eat you know."

"Of course I know. Everybody has to eat. Otherwise what are mouths for? But why steal? Why not buy the fruit instead? Lot less hassle that way."

"I don't have cash."

"Well that's not surprising. With the way you've been acting, your parents must be punishing you by taking away your allowance."

He resisted all the urges to scream at her. "I don't have parents."

"Oh really? How can you not have parents? You need them to be born. You need them to care for you."

"My parents don't give a rat's ass about me."

"Such foul language. It's unbecoming of a nice young boy like you."

He was close to loosing it. "Well, I'm not a nice young boy."

"Then what are you?"

"…Different."

"Oh, everyone's different."

"Not like me."

He was now avoiding her stare, preferring to look on the ground. He didn't want this conversation to continue. Too many bad memories. Too many of those old pains that his body just won't forget. He wanted to forget but the old woman just had to press on.

"What makes you so special?" she asked.

He glared back up at her. "I'm not special. I'm a freak! Just leave me alone!"

"You look fine to me."

"I assure you, I'm a long way from fine."

"You act as if you are the worst humanity has to offer. Why look down on yourself so much? You should be proud of the fact that you are special. Too many people are trying to be the same as everybody else even though that's impossible. You are yourself and no one else. You cannot become another. Someone as unique as you is rare and far between, my young boy."

"Proud? You don't have a clue as to what I'm going through lady!"

"Show me…"

The boy just about had enough and was already on his feet, staring down on the old woman. Just then, a man who had overheard some of the conversation and moved closer to the unusual duo. The man was standing on the boy's right less than a foot away, assuming that the boy was disrespecting the old woman in some way. With his arms crossed over his chest, the man confronted the boy.

"È ci un problema qui?" asked the man. "State causando la difficoltà?"

Without looking to his side at the man confronting him, the boy turned his entire right arm, from finger tip to shoulder, intangible and phased it through the older man's body. The boy held his ghostly arm in that position long enough for the woman to get a good look. The man, seeing the boy's hand pass right through him, began to nervously twitch before eventually loosing all his cool and running away like a scared child who had just seen a ghost.

The old woman however wasn't even bothered. "That's quite a talent you have."

The boy was stunned. Not so much at the fact that she barely blinked but the fact that she actually called it a talent.

"Talent?" repeated the boy. "How can you call this a talent? It's a freakin' curse is what it is! Because I can do something like this, everyone is afraid of me. My parents, whoever they were, were no different. They were afraid and they ditched me for it. You saw how that guy acted just now. They were all like that! Hey were all afraid!"

Again, the old woman never batted an eye. "I am not afraid."

Now he was confused more than anything else at that moment. She wasn't afraid. She even called it a talent! How could she be so calm after seeing that?

"What is it that you want from me, already?"

The old woman's face turned serious but there was still something there that resembled compassion. She didn't speak for a while. The boy waited, having little choice to do anything else. Eventually she broke her silence.

"You have to know," she said, "that you…are never alone, my boy…"

The boy was close to loosing it completely and even though somewhere deep in his mind he knew it was futile, he made one last desperate attempt to get away from the old woman. He turned around and went strait for the front doors of St. Mark's Basilica. They were closed and bolted but he kept going anyway. He could somehow sense the old woman getting ready to follow him again but it would be useless. Less than two feet from the door, his body turned completely intangible and he phased through the locked doors effortlessly leaving the old woman outside.

After phasing through the door he kept his intangible state for a while. He looked around and saw that the place was deserted. Nobody was there but him. He returned back to his tangible form. He strolled across the marbled floor of the enormous cathedral. He looked around him and saw scaffoldings that were set up so that workers could restore what needed to be worked on. No workers though. He looked up, and for a moment admired the frescos painted ages ago by the renaissance masters, at the elegant carvings of the pillars and altar. He had seen them all before, when he needed shelter from the rain that one night long ago. Now he needed shelter from everything else but the rain.

As he subconsciously drifted deeper into the interior of the basilica, his shoulder accidentally brushed the side of one of the scaffoldings and knocked a paintbrush off the edge of the wooden planks. The brush didn't fall immediately but allowed the boy to take a few more steps before hitting the marble floor with a clanking sound that echoed through the empty space. The boy turned around in surprise thinking it was another person. But it wasn't. He checked again that he was alone and indeed he was. It was just a paintbrush. There was nobody else there but him. He reminded himself that he was alone. He felt relived for a moment.

He remembered he was alone. His relief disappeared and gave way to something else. He was alone. Always alone. There was never anybody else there.

The old woman was wrong. He was alone.

He sat himself in the middle of the floor, buried his head in his knees while pulling them close with his arms, and then, knowing no one would see him, he cried.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Jump City. Present day.

In the afternoon, what would have been peaceful day of nothing happening was once again in the habit of being broken by one of the many characters that can be found in the Teen Titans' rouges gallery. Today it was the ever loud Punk Rocket who was literally breaking the silence.

"Hahaha! C'mon, Jump City," he exclaimed at the top of his voice, "let's rock!"

While riding his guitar like a hover-board over the city streets, Punk Rocket picked at the strings that were at his feet sending a loud and powerful sound that shot straight down into the street some five stories bellow the flying guitarist. The sonic waves broke car windows, streetlamps, storefront windows, and a few eardrums. The villain was clearly enjoying himself as his laugh was the only thing louder than his music.

"Man, I love the sound of chaos!" exclaimed Punk Rocket.

"And I'd love for you to shut up."

Punk Rocket turned around to se to the familiar voice. Instead all he saw was an old empty bus flying towards him and threatening to squash him like a fly. Thinking quickly, he maneuvered his guitar and picked at the strings to send a sound wave towards the bus. The sonic impact caused the bus to disintegrate instantaneously into several bits and pieces of junk. After the destroyed bus disappeared from his view, Puck Rocket got a good look at who threw it in the first place. Not that far away were two of the Teen Titans, Raven, Beast Boy who was transformed into a Pterodactyl.

"Haven't you ever heard of the sound of silence, Punk?" asked Raven.

"Everyone's a critique," retorted Puck rocket as he got swung at the strings of his guitar once again and sent a large shockwave in Raven and Beast Boy's direction.

Raven thought fast and created a soundproof shield of black energy to block out the attack. Beast Boy took another action and swooped straight up. After reaching a certain height, Beast Boy swooped back down like a dive bomber towards Punk Rocket. The villain saw this coming and quickly adjusted his aim and strutted another loud sonic attack. Beast Boy, being mostly unprotected, took the blunt of the attack quite heavily and was momentarily stunned causing him to return back to his normal elfin self. Beast Boy would have certainly hit the pavement had Raven not caught him in a black energy disk.

"Aww, looks like the little bugger is all tuckered out," said Punk Rocket. "Well, I'd hate for you to miss my encore but I have to rock and run now. Cheerio!"

Punk Rocket promptly turned tail and rode his guitar away from the two Titans. Raven was left carrying a recovering Beast Boy in her telekinetically created disk of black energy. Below them on the street, Raven heard the familiar revving sound of the Cyborg's T-car as it raced down the street in hot pursuit of Puck Rocket. She looked towards Beast Boy was sitting up by then, rubbing his ear.

"Hey," said Raven, "Are you alright there, BB?"

"What?" he replied.

"I said "are you alright?""

Beast Boy looked at her angrily. "What about my height?"

"Can you even hear what I'm saying to you?"

Beast Boy looked at her confused. "I didn't know you had the flu. You seemed fine yesterday."

Raven sighed exasperatingly. "Never mind. C'mon let's go!"

With that, Raven shot off into the air after Cyborg and Punk Rocket. Beast Boy got the cue and transformed into an eagle and flew after her. At the same time he was also wondering why Raven wanted him to buy some play doh. Last time he used that she got angry.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was driving down the streets keeping good pace with the flying villain overhead. Punk Rocket was not oblivious to this however. He was already looking for opportunities to loose his blue and white pursuer.

"Let's see how you handle some rough waves, mate," said Punk Rocket.

He strutted the strings on his guitar and sent a shockwave straight down into the pavement. The resulting impact caused a part of the road to buckle upwards creating an asphalt wave which caught Cyborg off-guard and his T-car was up in the air before he knew it. He knew he had only the option of bailing out left. He did so and to save himself from turning into street pizza, he quickly shot off his hand like one of Robin's grappling cables where he had a cable attached to his hand and was being fed through the wrist. As Cyborg's hand managed to grab onto Punk Rocket's guitar, the T-car does a flip in mid-air and lands violently upside down causing major damage to the roof of the car.

"Awww, man," groaned Cyborg at the damage to his T-car. "You're gonna pay for that you little punk!"

"That's Punk Rocket to you, mate!"

Slowly, Cyborg started reeling his hand in getting closer to Punk Rocket. The villain decided he had other plans and flew lower to the ground. Flying less than a few feet off the ground caused Cyborg to become a very unwilling street surfer. After stumbling about on his chest and back Cyborg somehow managed to get on his feet and sort of did something that resembled bare-foot water skiing with the slight difference of it being on city streets. Spaks flew everywhere as Cyborg's alloy feet ground at the road.

"Don't think you can loose me that easily," declared Cyborg.

"I'd tell you to hang in there, mate," said Punk Rocket, "but I don't swing that way. Unfortunately for you, you're about to swing _this_ way."

Punk Rocket made a sudden turn which caused some slack on Cyborg's line causing him to go out of control. Cyborg inevitably lipped off the road and crashed into a parked truck rather comically.

Punk Rocket laughed as he turned around for a moment to see Cyborg's almost cartoonish crash into the parked truck. His laughter stopped however as he turned back around and found himself at the receiving end of a lariat maneuver that caught his chin and flipped him off his guitar. Before he could even realize it happened, Punk Rocket was already on the street face-down, his guitar not landing too far away.

Punk Rocket struggled to get back up and once on his feet looked to where he supposed his attacker was. There stood an averaged-height young man wearing black under an unusual-looking- white jacket of sorts. Punk Rocket tried to make out the guy's face but it was being concealed by the jacket's hood which casted a shadow onto the person's identity. Punk Rocket really didn't care.

"Who ever you are, mate," said Punk Rocket a he went for his guitar and picked it up, "you just made a bloody, big-ass, mistake!"

The musical villain shot forth a strong sound wave that would've leveled a small house but the stranger suddenly wasn't eve there anymore. In the time it took Punk Rocket to go and pick up his guitar, the stranger had already disappeared and the villain had nothing to aim at.

Punk Rocket looked around confused when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was unconscious and on the ground two seconds later.

Watcher retracted the fist he used to knock down the villain and waited patiently for an expected bunch to arrive. They eventually did. All three of the Teen Titans that remained in the city. Raven and Beast boy flew down while Cyborg was huffing and puffing all the way down the road regretting the temporary lose of his car. Watcher wondered for a moment where Robin and Starfire were but as Raven began to approach him he focused on her more than anything.

This was it, he told himself. Last encounter was not so hot, maybe now he could get started on the right foot. Maybe. Or she could just as well tear his head off right then and there. He swallowed, thankful that the hood of his jacket kept them from seeing it. The last thing he wanted was to look afraid, which he was. He opened his mouth to say something. Raven beat him to it.

"Before you say anything," said Raven, "I just want you to know that we…I…apologize for what happened last time we met."

Watcher froze. That was very unexpected. It took him a while to think up a response for that.

"I see…" he said, "that's…cool."

He promised he'd chide himself later for that response.

"Anyway, I wanted to see if we could somehow maybe have a talk, work out our different agendas. We obviously have some similar goal here and it'd better if we could work with each other rather than against each other. Though I would understand if you wouldn't want to."

There was a slight silence that went on where nobody said anything. Watcher looked at Raven and the rest of the Titans there. He studied their faces and expressions. They were honest, even slightly apologetic. They were ebing serious about this. And here he was on his way to beg for their help. The silence was eventually broken when Beast Boy spoke up.

"Ummm, Rae," he said, rubbing his ear, "can you please repeat all that. I didn't quite catch it."

Everyone stared at Beast Boy for a while.

Watcher shook his head to bring him back to the situation at hand. "Ummm…well, the thing is I was actually on my way to see you guys."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "You were? Why, what's up, dawg."

Watcher sighed and pulled down his hood to reveal his face. "Things are getting out of hand. Now I've managed my fair share of bad situations in the past but now I've decided that I can't do this alone. I'm glad that you want to talk. We really need to talk."

Raven could see where this was going. "So what you're saying is…"

Watcher nodded. "I'm asking you for your help…"

Watcher kept as friendly a face as he could without looking needy. Raven thought about it and decided that he was being as honest as he could. She also already decided that, even though he was a stranger, he was an outsider, he was not a bad guy. At least for now that was her decision. Time would reveal truths. It always did. But now there was something bigger than either of them and they had to focus on the present. She nodded towards him to signify her agreement to him and she could see that there was significant relief in his expression.

She'll wonder whether she made the right decision later. For now she…they, had a job to do.

"Hey! What makes you think you can say my hair looks like kelp?" Beast Boy exclaimed.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Sorry for the late update. Just wanna say that I hope you guys had a happy Easter. Well, take care and please R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The usual drabble…

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

A long time ago.

Mumbo Jumbo was at it again. The blue skinned magical villain had just stolen the show, among other things, at a local theater. Of course the city's heroes the Teen Titans, all _six_ of them, were already there trying their best to thwart the villain in his attempts to do anymore damage. And of course, this being Mumbo and all, they had a lot of things to go wrong. Mumbo had just made Titans Tower disappear instantly; a classic trick if ever there was one. Beast Boy had slipped into one of Mumbo's traps and was soon followed by Starfire and Terra who tried to rescue him and they all ended up somewhere "off-panel" while Raven and Cyborg are in the T-car in hot pursuit of the said villain. Robin was the closest to Mumbo at that moment but Mumbo somehow got the best of him. And if Robin was hard enough to understand before…

"Robin, are you alright…?" said Raven on her communicator.

"Gnihtemos si gnorw htiw ym eciov!" replied the boy wonder.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"Gnihtemos si gnorw htiw ym eciov!" repeated Robin in vain.

"I knew I shoulda stuck wit those Spanish lessons. You understand what e just said, Rae?"

"Obmum deppaz em!" exclaimed Robin on the T-cars small computer screen.

"Uh, he's not speaking Spanish," said Raven. "He's talking backwards!"

"Yllaer?" asked Robin, totally clueless.

"Yeah, yllaer?" repeated Cyborg.

"Really," replied Raven. "So, we better get down there right away. I think Mumbo's just trying to distract us. Stage magicians call it "misdirection." Doing one thing to divert attention from another. The Tower, your "back-words," Beast Boy…Fun and Games to keep us busy while he's up to something else!"

"Tog ti, Nevar," said Robin.

"Rob, my sensors indicate," said Cyborg, "that Mumbo's still in the area. Hang tight, we're on our way!"

"T'nod yrrow, ll'I dnif mih!"

Meanwhile, in a place between the real and the surreal, Best Boy was just finding a way to get out and Terra and Starfire was just about to catch up to him. They'll all be out soon but not soon enough for the rest of the Titans' preferences. Robin did manage to find Mumbo quick enough, predictably inside a bank. Inside the back itself, Mumbo who was standing on the counter and was already finishing up cleaning out the safe of its contents. No one was within any position to stop him as they were all in some kind of bind that was a reflection of some old magical cliché.

"Now," Mumbo showed to the helpless crowd sacks full of cash in his hand, "watch as the amazing Mumbo makes all this money disappear!"

As Mumbo laughed his butt off, Robin finally busted in unexpectedly and yelled out the traditional command of 'stop', or in Robin's case: "Pots!"

"Pots?" repeated one of the confused and bound bank tellers.

Mumbo was caught off-guard by Robin's rather unexpected entry. If there's anything a magician can't stand, it's something that goes out of his control. It happened to be at that same moment when Beast Boy suddenly found his way outside of Mumbo's trap and appeared next to Robin. Again, Mumbo was caught with his pants down. He knew he had to escape and the two Titans were already charging at him. Mumbo was quick enough to jump over the tow Titans as they made a grab for him.

"Tsaeb Yob!" exclaimed Robin, "t'ond tel mih teg yawa!"

"Don't let him get away!" exclaimed Beast Boy just before transforming into an Orangutan.

"Hu, I dias taht ydaerla…"

"This calls for a little more misdirection," said Mumbo. "Hocus Pocus! Change of focus!"

As soon as Mumbo finished his incantation Robin and Beast Boy found themselves surrounded by stop signs (as in like red octagons, rail road crossing signs, dead end signs, the works). When Mumbo wanted to "stop" them in their tracks he did it, but not without a good amount of corny cliché work and he seemed to know this. One thing Magicians also hate is being forced to use clichés.

"Uh-oh," said Mumbo under his breath, "I seem to be running out of material." He looks up both his sleeves. "Nothing up this sleeve…and nothing up this sleeve. Oh wait! What's up _your_ sleeves?"

Mumbo suddenly aims his magic wand at the two Titans with him in the bank. The zap that hit Robin and Beast Boy had an instant effect of causing smoke to billow out of their sleeves which caused the unmasked Beast Boy to slightly tear up in the eyes and cough. The two Titans were helpless as Mumbo grabbed his stolen money sack and bolted for the door.

"The smoke screen!" exclaimed Mumbo. "A magician's best friend!"

Meanwhile, out side the bank while all the chaos inside ensued, The T-car was just arriving. As Raven and Cyborg exited the car, Cyborg spotted the last remaining two of the Titans that had yet to show-up up to that point. Terra and Starfire seemed to have come out of nowhere and as far as the two girls were concerned they _did_ come from out of nowhere, mostly thanks to more of Mumbo's kooky magic. But now that the team was a little bit more complete this allowed them to get down to business.

"Star! Tee! Over here!" called out Cyborg.

Terra and Starfire regrouped with Raven and Cyborg. When they finally formed a group of four, Terra scanned the area quickly. No sign of the villain they were after and no sign of Beast Boy either. He had gotten out of that "off-panel" place and she expected that when she and Starfire got out themselves they would be in the same area when they got out. She was wrong apparently. This caused her to worry somewhat.

For some reason this particular case was getting to her nerves. Terra couldn't really put her finger as to why. It would be much later when she found out the reason why Mumbo ticked her off more than most of the other villains in the Titans' roster. His unpredictability, his crazy patterns of attack and escape, his misleading trick as Raven had just pointed out. All these factors caused someone in Terra's position to loose control. That wasn't right. Not to her especially.

"Where y'all been?" asked Cyborg. "Did you find BB?"

"Sadly, no." replied Starfire.

"Don't worry," reassured Raven. "Beast Boy should be okay. Mumbo's just trying to distract us from whatever crime he's commiting."

"Okay," replied Terra, "so where is Mumbo?"

At that moment, the alarm of the bank just across the street began to blare calling the attention of all four of the Titans present. Raven pointed a finger to the bank and looked at Terra with a sarcastic look. "Take a guess…"

Robbing a bank. That fitted Mumbo's profile perfectly. Terra felt a slight sense of relief in her mind. Mubo did something predictable. That was good, gave her control of the situation, just the way things are supposed to be. Terra knew any second now that the magician would come running out the door with cash in his hands and chuckling as if he just won the lottery. All very predictable.

A few seconds after the alarm from the bank started blaring, Mumbo did just that. The rest was textbook.

"Right on cue!" exclaimed Cyborg.

Terra calmly walked forward and lowered her goggles over her eyes. Time for her to shine now. "Yeah, time for Terra to rock us out!"

Terra lifted her hands which began to glow brightly. Mumbo never saw it coming as a slab of the sidewalk he was running down on suddenly broke off its foundation and rose straight up into the air. The blue-skinned magician tripped over the slab and landed on his chest right on the slab. The impact into the slab caused him to loose his loot as well as the magical items tat gave him his powers As his loot, hat, and wand fell to the ground bellow the slab of concrete continued to rise up a bit more to ensure that mumbo didn't have anything in reach which he could use. He was as good as done for.

The magical villain gasped when he realized his loss. "My wand! My hat! My _money_!"

It was then that Robin and Beast Boy also exited from the bank and saw the outcome of Mumbo's attempted escape. Thanks mostly to Terra, Mumbo was going back to jail once again.

"Beast Boy!" exclaimed Terra upon seeing her green-skinned teammate. "You're alright!"

"And you Robin?" inquired Starfire. "You are unharmed?"

"I…think so…yes!" replied Robin. "My voice is back to normal."

"So's Mumbo," said Raven, "and it looks like he could use a new routine."

"Yeah," exclaimed Cyborg, "it's not that easy to _trick_ the Teen Titans!"

From atop his floating slab of concrete mumbo put up a worthless protest against the Titans. "No fair! I was blindsided! Let me down from here!"

On the side, Terra thought about what Cyborg just said. It's not easy to trick the Teen Titans. Maybe in another life she would've agreed to that. Still keeping the concrete slab up with her powers Terra watched in some amusement as Mumbo protested in vain. He was certainly going back to jail. Is crime was a failure. He had underestimated them all and all she had to do was to exploit that at the right moment. She did so brilliantly even if she may say so herself. She did the right thing. She followed through with a perfect plan. She was the heroine of the day

For a brief moment Terra allowed herself to feel proud.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

STAR Labs, Toronto.

The captain browsed through the array of machinery in the room. All looked to be from another time or another world. But in STAR Labs this was probably common ground. The captain himself was no stranger to next generation technology considering who he works for at the moment. But he didn't really need to know all this stuff by the last details. He had the convenience of the shopping list his boss gave him. He was the real expert in the subject and the captain had nothing to argue with. Better just get on with the chore.

The parts they needed were simple enough to find. Three in total all smaller than a briefcase which provided much convenience. The captain took a moment to look around and found some attaché cases for the sake of convenience. As his two black-suited escorts waited near the door, the captain made the move in gather all three of the parts they needed and fitted them into one of the attaché cases which seemed tailor-made to hold the parts snugly with foam interior lining. More convenient.

The captain was just about to get bored. He almost wished for the convenience to run out or something. Too bad that his unsaid wish came true to a degree.

There was some kind of crashing noise that came from down the hall. The crashing noise was soon followed by a small contained explosion. The noise came from way down the hall and didn't seem that close. Nevertheless, the men inside the room developed some concern.

"What's going on?" asked the captain.

One of the black-suited henchmen by the door pressed his palm to his ear where there was a small communicator under his suit's headpiece. After listening for a while he turned to the captain with a concerned expression that was hidden by his face mask.

"We may have a problem, sir," said the black-suited henchmen.

"Take care of it," said the captain. "I'll finish things here."

The two men nodded and promptly exited the room leaving the captain to his own work. The two men traveled down the hall which they gone though earlier, each privately contemplating what could be the problem. They knew the lab's own security was already incapacitated and presented little to no threat. And even if the problem was caused by the lab's security force that would've been easily taken care of by the rest of the group which was more than sufficient for this mission. What could be the problem? They would find out soon enough.

As the two henchmen leave, the captain waited a little bit and pulled out what looked like a cell phone from his pocket. He browsed through the directory unseen by anyone else and made a call. After just one ring, the captain's call was picked up. The captain was the first to say anything and he knew that he was the only one to say anything since he also knew that the man he called couldn't speak at all.

"It's me," said the captain. "Looks like I might need your help after all…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

The two black-suited henchmen reach the door at the end of the hall that lead to one of the many common areas in the lab. It was a lounge type of room where off-duty scientist could relax and socialize amongst their colleagues. Aside from a small snack bar and coffee machine, it had a few billiard tables, air hockey tables, and foosball tables for some light entertainment. It also had a couch set, some chairs, potted palm trees in the corners, a non-alcoholic bar, and a large plasma TV with premium cable.

The two men burst through the doors leading into the common area and promptly stepped away from each other so as not to be hit by the flying body of one of their white-suited comrades as it crashed through the same set of doors. They turned to see what did it and were sufficiently surprised to find the remainder of their comrades facing off against the infamous HIVE Five. Unusual was the fact that they counted six. The mix of black and white-suited henchmen was standing defensively against the six teens that all looked sufficiently threatening. The teens themselves were eyeing the men curiously noting the fact that there were now five of black-suited henchmen present along with eight more of the familiar white-suited henchmen.

"Looks like that old guy brought in some new game," said Gizmo, eyeing the black-suited enemies, particularly. "These barf-beaters don't seem too familiar."

"Indeed," said Fallacy, twirling a length of her rope dart from her hand, "The mad professor seems to be more resourceful than I had thought of at first. He has quite the following after all."

"Well, whatever he's got," intruded Mammoth while beating a fist into his palm, "it only means more fun for us."

"I would advise you, my dear friends, to take caution. The professor is a crafty adversary that's not to be underestimated."

"Relax, Fallacy," reassured See-More. "We can hold our own in a fight. And beside, by the _look _of things, I'd say those guys won't give us much of a choice but to fight."

"You may have a point there."

"These guys don't know who they're messing with," said Mammoth, beating his fists harder. "What do you guys say we take them down HIVE style?"

Each of the rest of the gang looked at Mammoth and nodded with agreement. "Let's wipe the floor with these grub-munchers already!" exclaimed Gizmo.

That seemed to set off the men in the suits as all ten of them now charged at the different members of the HIVE. The teens scattered accordingly, separating their attackers and taking them out individually. A classic HIVE strategy; segregate your enemies when they underestimate you and take them out individually while trusting your fellow HIVE to do the same. The strategy was proven in battle many times before and now would prove no different.

The men leading the charge went after Gizmo after being provoked by his corny yet provoking name-calling. Gizmo found himself against one of the black-suited and two of the white-suited ones. Easy game, he concluded in his head. He hopped into the air and activated the spider legs that sprang out of his back pack. The black suited henchman moved in first with his taser stick but with gizmo suddenly eleven feet taller the black-suited henchman found his weapon of little use. Gizmo attacked with one of his mechanical spider legs and went into a kind of fencing duel with the henchman and his taser stick.

The black-suited henchman managed to hold his own for a while but was eventually caught off-guard when Gizmo aimed high and the henchman blocked high. In that point of vulnerability, Gizmo swept another one of his mechanical spider legs room the side and swiped at the henchman with enough force to knock him all the way to the wall. The black-suited henchman was out like a light.

Gizmo now turned to the two remaining white-suited henchmen he faced. They both aimed their taser rods at him and prepared to fire. Gizmo only grinned. As the two men fired away, Gizmo sprang up with all four of his mechanical legs all the way to the ceiling to evade the shots. In mid-air he flipped upside down and planted his mechanical legs to the ceiling. Once there Gizmo activated his own lasers from his back pack and two small cannons popped up form over (or in this case under) his shoulders and fired at the two men. The two henchmen received direct hits and were knocked-out by the tremendous shocks delivered by the blasts. Up on the ceiling, Gizmo grinned smugly.

On another side of the room, Kid Wykkyd evaded some red blast of energy being shot his way by tow of the white-suited henchmen. His gymnastic agility was enough or him to dodge every shot they threw at him with considerable ease. At that point the mute villain was just goofed around, not really fighting seriously. But he knew he had to act soon to finish the job.

After a simultaneous blast of red energy, Kid Wykkyd suddenly disappeared into a shadow in mid air and the two blasts of red energy simply blew up a sofa behind where the villain stood just a moment ago. The two henchmen looked confusedly at each other before they noticed the shadow reappear behind them and two fists flew out to smack them in the face, knocking them out. Kid Wykkyd stood over the two unconscious henchmen triumphantly.

A short distance away, Billy Numerous found himself surrounded by three of the white-suited henchmen, all were training their weapons at him. Billy wasn't the least bit intimidated though but he simply grinned at his three antagonists.

"Hmmm," said Billy Numerous. "Three against one. That don't seem right…"

With just a thought, Billy duplicated himself multiple times. The three men who thought they had surrounded the HIVE student now found themselves completely encompassed by five or six Billys each. They lowered their weapons nervously as all of the Billys grinned menacingly at them.

"Now that's more like it!" said all the Billys simultaneously.

The numerous Billys simultaneously tackled the three unfortunate henchmen who all found no way of countering the effects of Billy's duplication powers. The battle was soon dealt with swiftly with Billy Numerous in a favoring position in the end.

On another side of the room See-More and Mammoth were seemingly being backed into a corner of the room by the last white-suited henchman and two of his black-suited colleagues. The two Hive students found themselves with their backs to one of the large potted palm trees in the corner. They looked at it then at each other and formed a mutual grin each. They looked back at their assailants who were just about to charge head-on.

When the three henchman charge in, weapons sparking like mad, the two HIVE students put their little plan into action. See-More quickly stepped forward and, after adjusting the dial at the side of his helmet, shot out three bubble-like eyes that flew at the three men who skidded to a halt. Too late however as the bubble eyes completely enveloped them and trapped them inside. The three henchmen found themselves in a pretty helpless predicament where they could not escape from the bubble-like contraptions that kept them floating in mid-air.

Mammoth was already doing his part by ripping the palm tree from its pot and holding it out like a baseball bat. He took a stance right in front of the three henchmen who all swallowed nervously.

"I'll never get tired of doing this!" exclaimed Mammoth.

Mammoth swung the tree and hit the three bubbles that contained the three henchmen hard. The bubbles instantly burst which caused the henchmen to receive a good deal of the blow and they were sent flying across the room. The black-suited henchman crashed right into one of the pool table reducing it to splinters and knocking the man unconscious. His two white-suited henchmen merely sprawled onto the floor and slid all the way to the large, flat-screen, plasma TV which they knocked over and caused to fall on them sending them into dreamland.

Meanwhile, Fallacy was facing off with the last two remaining black-suited henchmen. They had surrounded her, on faced her head on and the other was at her back, while they themselves kept a reasonable distance, both with their taser sticks sparking up a storm. Fallacy held her stance at ready and twirled a short length of her rope dart. The one from behind was predictably the first one to charge at her. Fallacy sensed this and was already on the counterattack.

Fallacy quickly twisted her body around to face the henchman coming from behind her and launched the dart right at his taser stick held high. The dart not only knocked the stick off but also broke the weapon in half. At about the same time the henchman that was now behind her charged in as well. Fallacy knew this was coming to and quickly turned around whipping her rope dart in the process so that the heavy dart impacted his taser stick and knocked it to the side.

Fallacy then quickly pulled back the dart and twirled it around fancily as more of a defensive measure that worked in forcing the two henchmen to once again distance themselves from her. After that bit of fancy twirling of her rope dart, Fallacy went on the offensive again and, as she let the dart drop, used her foot to forcefully kick the dart up towards the first henchman's head. The impact nearly disintegrated the hard metallic mask that covered the henchman's face and was enough to render the henchman unconscious and on the floor. Fallacy quickly whipped the rope dart around and lassoed the second henchman by the legs. She pulled tight and literally swept the henchman off his feet and sent him falling on the back of his head to the floor, which knocked the living daylights out of him.

Fallacy retrieved her dart and neatly rolled up the entirety of her weapon. The battle was over and her team won. The predictable outcome.

"Hoooweeee!" exclaimed Billy Numerous after observing their victory. "That was a load of chuckles! Is there anymore?"

"There just might be my multiplicative friend," said Fallacy with a slight grin and while turning to See-More. "Is that not right?"

"From my initial observation," said See-More, "I did notice that they had a leader with them that had a slightly different uniform than these suckers. He should be around her somewhere."

"If there's anyone who can fill us in on that old geezer's operations," said Gizmo, "it'll probably be that snot-sputter."

"True," said Fallacy. "Let us find him, shall we?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Four years ago.

"Ever since the end of the cold war," said Brother Blood as he paced around the bench where the girl quietly sat and listened to him talk, "the world realized that they needed something that would insure order among the rapidly growing chaos that resulted from the collisions and conflicts of the also rapidly growing superpowers and their respective allies."

"Insure order?" inquired the girl. She was a lot calmer now than she was only half-an-hour ago. The way she saw it she had no choice but to calm down. She couldn't get away from this man, might as well hear him out. They seemed to be in a nice spot anyway which helped to calm her down. The park somewhere in the middle of the city during the night had an eerie but somehow calming silence to it.

"With weapons of mass destruction easily within anybody's reach, the world's countries concentrated on nothing but power in order to invoke fear into their neighbors and even their own allies. In the era after the cold war intimidationwas the primary tool that kept the world in order. After the cold war both America and Russia had over thirty thousand nuclear warheads each. China was already developing its own nuclear program as well at that point and in the Middle-east some of the most feared terrorist organizations were being created. That era saw the most sales in illegal weapons on the black market that supplied black operations across the world. All this for the sake of control and power. To intimidate the other with superior firepower radical acts of warfare was the one leverage any nation had over its rivals and that gave them what power they had. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," answered the girl. "But what does any of that have to do with me? Or this…HIVE thing you're talking about?"

"I'm getting to that."

Brother Blood moved to the front of the bench. The girl watched him carefully and for a while nothing happened. The Brother Blood took out what looked like a small candy bar from his pocket. The girl assumed he would eat it or give it to her but he did neither. Instead, Brother Blood simply unwrapped the candy and dropped it at his feet. He stood still and simply waited. For a while nothing happened again. The girl noticed a squeak to the side. She looked and spotted a rat coming up to the candy bar and took a nibble.

For a while, nothing happened once again. This started to make the girl uncomfortable. But then Brother Blood snatched up the small rodent in his hand. He raised it up to his face so he could get good look at the squirming rat. The girl watch in a mixture of nervousness and fascination.

"You know the one thing common in all life forms my dear?" he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really."

"It's _fear_, little girl. Good, ol' fashioned fear. No living thing is born without it. It is the quintessential element to the survival of life on this miserable little planet."

He slowly started to squeeze on the rat a bit. The rat visibly squirmed more and more sensing that if it did not escape it would meet its doom. The girl watched nervously. Brother Blood simply grinned, taking obvious delight in the torture of the rodent in his hand.

"It's quite fascinating really," said Blood, slowly tightening his grip with every word, "the way every creature reacts in the same situations. When they feel that hope is waning, options are running low…when they reach the absolute end of their line…fear takes over. The feeling itself is simple enough of a concept. A built-in psychological defense system that warns a creature of impending danger that it should avoid at all cost. It is simple to understand and easy to predict. As fear rises, logic and reason fly out the window. All that matters is its own meaningless existence. This is when life shows its true nature, where it only cares for one thing and one thing only--"

The rat became desperate and instead of just wailing around in a vain attempt to loosen itself from the man's grip, the rat dug its sharp teeth into Brother Blood's hand. The sharp incisors dug about three millimeters into the flesh of the hand causing considerable pain on Blood's part. The bite prompted Blood to immediately let go of the rodent which fell to the ground and ran away, disappearing into the bushes.

"It's own survival…" finished Brother Blood.

The girl watched the display with mixed feelings. She looked up at Brother Blood who looked down on her like a teacher would a student.

"Fear is the ultimate tool for anybody to use," said Brother Blood. "Those who control fear control everything. No one is immune to it…but I can help you understand it more. And with that, control it more. The HIVE academy was built for this purpose."

"To teach the use of fear?" asked the girl. "Isn't that the same as terrorism?"

"NO, the HIVE is not as primitive as terrorism. Terrorists are morons who can't understand the true power of fear. Those stupid bomb-wearing suicidal idiots; all they can do is create fear but leave it at that. They ask for so much but can barely deliver themselves. They kill innocents thinking they serve a higher purpose but in truth they have no purpose and achieve no goals except for being a huge pain in the ass for everyone else. The HIVE is different."

"How?"

The power to use fear is given to those who are worthy to receive it. The HIVE academy will spearhead an revolution in society that will ultimately end with leaders who know how to use their powers of intimidation. This is the vision me and my mututal partner have envisioned for the HIVE."

"You have a partner?"

"Yes. She will be the Headmistress of our little academy. She's currently in the Americas recruiting more students like I am here. I believe she already found some interesting talents already. I hear of a girl some years younger than you who can bring bad luck. Yes, we only look for the best talents."

The girl thought about what he said. The best talents. Is that what she was? An orphan with no home and the simple ability of making a cop think he was being swarmed by bees, or making that car salesman think he was drowning in the ocean, or making that pimp think he being suffocated by living bubble wrap. The best talents?

"Why me?" asked the girl. "Because I'm "special" with my ability? I'm a bloody freak! I was never raised properly and I've only made my living by giving people bad dreams that aren't even real and taking what I need in the process!"

"Exactly!"

"Huh?"

"You already know how to use fear, my girl…"

The girl was silent for a while. Brother Blood continued. "You know how to use fear to get what you want but…do you really know what you want? Don't you wish for greater things? I can show you a different path, help you hone your talent, and teach you that the fear you induce…even if that fear is a fallacy…can give things beyond anything you could ever dram of…"

The girl looked up to the man who only a few moments ago had her running across the dark streets of the city in fear of her life. Now she looked up at him with a new feeling of admiration that seem to have come out of nowhere. He understood her. Something no one has ever been able to do, or attempted to do. He understood her. The first person she ran away from was the first person she _didn't_ need to run away from. By now all her fear of this man was gone. All that was left was the desire to learn more about him, about HIVE, and about what could be her one single chance in her lifetime to actually be something.

"So…what do you say?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Back in STAR Labs.

With the doors bursting open, The HIVE student charged in where the captain was hiding in. When the group of six did burst then slightly spread out in a loose formation in the captain only turned around slowly in their direction almost casually. He had in his hand the attaché case containing the parts Professor Chang needed.

"Told ya'" said See-More to the group.

"Well I guess we can settle this now, huh," said Gizmo.

"Indeed," said Fallacy, "You there! Surrender now and we promise to be as civilized as we can with you!"

The other members of the gang grinned at this and so did Fallacy to some degree. However their threat was lost to the captain of the henchmen as he simply stood there calmly. The grin on Fallacy's face started to disappear.

"I know you," said the captain who seemed to refer directly to Fallacy who lost her grin completely. "Yes, I remember you. Still upset about Steel City are we?"

"Shut up!" exclaimed Fallacy. "Your boss' treachery was unforgivable. I am here now to settle the matter. You will tell us where he is or you will know how it feels like to experience true terror! Believe me, I can deliver that threat easily!"

"Yeah, you tell 'em!" exclaimed Billy.

"Hmm, I don't think so," replied the captain. "You won't stop me here…or anywhere else."

"Forget it, man!" exclaimed Mammoth. "We can pound you to pudding if we gotta! You got nothing on us!"

"Well, maybe not me personally…But I'm betting _he_ does." The captain raised an arm and a finger to point to someone behind the HIVE.

Fallacy was the first one to turn and have her eyes go wide. Standing in the doorway was a figure was that of a tall Caucasian man, about five and a half feet in height of average looking build. The man wore a nice looking black suit with black pants, and shiny black leather shoes, black leather gloves, a long white scarf around his neck and a white shirt underneath his suit. All of this was topped off with a black fedora hat which covered some of the man's face.

The _Silencer_ slowly lifted his head to reveal a pair of dark gray emotionless eyes. The HIVE students were completely caught off-guard by the entrance of the stranger, an entrance none of tem detected.

"You guys…" continued the captain, "… have absolutely no idea what's really going on here."

Silencer slowly reached into his suit and produced a Fairbairn-Sykes combat knife A\and displayed it for all to see. He stood there in the door way not moving an inch for a good long time. The HIVE teens were cautious. Fallacy felt a fear in her that welled up but she quickly suppressed it. Again, someone had snuck up on her. Her heart was pumping more than she wanted. Behind the team of teen villains, the captain was calmly watching from a safe distance as if he knew the outcome already.

Then suddenly, without warning, Silencer charged at them

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's Note: Had a bad case of writer's block. Sorry for the delay. Please be also reminded that this story gets bigger and deeper as I write it. Things are happening in this story which even _I _don't see coming. Also, I had a bit of a brainstorming session which also contributed to the slight lateness of my update. What was I brainstorming? Well, I finally got the idea for the plot of my next story after I'm done with this. I won't say anything about it yet but I will say that my next story will be a direct sequel to my third fic _Crimson Trials_.

Until then, Pls R&R!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: They're not mine and that's that.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Twenty-four years ago.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing Professor?" asked Evans as she watched from a safe distance while Professor Chang was standing in front of what they supposed to be some elaborate combination lock mechanism.

Professor Chang shrugged his shoulders wile not even bothering to look back at her. "No, I am not."

"Then you probably shouldn't be messing around there."

"I probably shouldn't."

"…Then why are you still there?"

Professor Chang all but ignored her as he was preoccupied with the intricate symbols. He noticed some of the symbols on what would be the locking mechanism seemed similar to some surrounding encryptions on the walls. They were arranged in such a way that it looked somewhat like a codex. A clue on what the combination was. This intrigued Professor Chang. The solution was right here! If only he could read the language. He took a closer look. Maybe he didn't have to be able to. There was a pattern. Most definitely a pattern.

"I think I can figure this out!" exclaimed Chang.

Behind him, several of the men, including Dr. Cannes and Dr. Volkov, exchanged skeptical looks. The professor didn't look back as he was concentrated on his work. He studied the symbols on the circle, which was at least as tall as him. He studied the nine buttons, each were the size of a pie. He looked back and fourth at the structure and noted, upon close inspection, that the large circle were actually two circles. The smaller one inside had small knobs, six in all counted Chang, around its circumference space at regular intervals, much like a modern clock. The slightly larger outer circle. Had just one knob at the very top.

"That had to mean something. He then looked at the codex on the walls of the altar again. He started putting two and two together. Meanwhile, the pack behind him was beginning to worry, Evans most of all.

"Look, professor," she said, "we know too little about this place to be messing around like this. I think you should back off there and maybe we can all put some ideas together and figure it out eventually. Professor are you listening to me.

He wasn't. Evans was getting a bit frustrated. "Professor I know this may be a big find for you but if you're noit careful, we could--"

Chang suddenly pushed one of the buttons in the grid, the top one. It gave out a loud thump as it was drove into the altar by Chang's hand. Everybody froze.

"What did you just do?" asked Evans.

"Trying out a theory."

More odd mechanical noises emanated from the alter. The entire party started to feel tense. Suddenly the large circle started to visibly vibrate. All eyes were on the circle as the knob on the top suddenly lit up like a light bulb. It's glowed a pure white light. A couple of seconds the top knob of the smaller circle also lit up with the same brightness and color. Chang stared at the two lights and grinned. It worked.

"I knew it!" he said. "I see the pattern now."

"Chang, maybe you shouldn't play around like that," said Cannes.

Chang ignored the Doctor and concentrated on his work looked at the codex again then the grid in front of him back and forth several times as if to check. He pushed the far left button in the middle row. Again the group tensely froze and the same thing that happened before happened again.

"I don't like where this is going!" exclaimed Evans.

Something different happened this time. The outer circle started to rotate counter-clockwise and stopped when the knob of the outer circle was directly inline with the next knob of the inner circle which was roughly in a ten-o-clock position. The ten-o-clock knob suddenly lit up like the two knobs that did before it. Thing were looking well, Chang thought.

"Now, the next one," said Change.

"Professor if I could interfere," said Volkov, "maybe you should take this slower and--"

Chang had already pushed the next button: the right button of the fourth row from the top. He expected the same thing to happen as last time as soon as the button went deep into the altar. He was surprised when it didn't. What happened instead was that there was a loud clang from within the altar and suddenly all three of the buttons popped back out. The knobs of the two circles lost their light and the outer circle spun back to its original position where its knob was at twelve-o-clock. All was silent

"Ehh…Looks like I misinterpreted that last part."

"Professor, please," called out Cannes. "We should find another way to approach this."

"I just need a bit more time to figure out the pattern fully. I got the first two right. Give me some time and I'll figure out the rest of it."

"If we're not careful, we could do something we will regret."

"I don't think there's anything to fear."

"Well, you may think so but…Does anybody else here that?"

The group all turned to Dr. Cannes. They craned their ears to hear whatever Cannes may have heard but for now all was slient. "I don't hear anything," said one of the men.

"I swear I heard…"

In the back of the group, one of the men was casually standing around, getting bored with what was going on. Suddenly the man felt an almost undetectable tremor on the floor and stared hearing the same sound that Cannes had heard not more than a few seconds ago. He could tell it was coming from behind him. He turned slowly around. The man was confused when he thought he was looking at an oversized ankle but he eventually realized that he wasn't hallucinating. He looked up slowly and stared at the large alien-looking creature, clothed in some kind of heavy looking garments, towering over him. The creature was holding up what looked to be a spear and seemed to be aiming at the man.

Once the man finally convinced himself it wasn't a dream, he screamed out loud just as the creature thrust down its spear towards him.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

STAR Labs, Toronto.

Fallacy was caught off-guard by the sudden rush of her new adversary. His dagger came down at her and she thought of the quickest way to defend herself. Fallacy used the rope of her rope dart and stretched it high above her head so that it caught the dagger's blade. The rope held, mostly due to the fact that it was made from synthetic Kevlar fibers that made it designed not to be easily cut by even Silencer's blades. She pushed off the aggressor and he jumped back, away from her.

He looked to be preparing another charge and Fallacy readied herself, not wanting to be caught off-guard again. She took the initiative and launched her heavy, drill-shaped dart directly at Silencer's face. Silencer was faster than that unfortunately and he easily swatted away the dart with dagger. He charged at her while she was vulnerable. It looked to be a clean charge for the assassin but he momentarily forgot about the rest of the HIVE that were there. Mammoth reminded him.

"Hey, you," the gigantic teen exclaimed from the side catching Silencer's attention.

As Silencer turned, he saw Mammoth's huge fist barreling towards him. Using his agility, the well dressed assassin leapt back some more to avoid the direct hit. Mammoth may have missed but the rest of the HIVE was not planning to let him breath for a moment. From above, flying on the twin helicopter rotors that protruded from his backpack, Gizmo fired a volley of laser blasts from his shoulder mounted mini cannons.

Silencer dashed to side avoiding being hit by the volley of laser fire. He parried several blasts with his dagger. As he ran all the way across the room, Gizmo kept the trigger down and followed the assassin with his aim. All that blasts that didn't hit Silencer (which was all of them actually) hit something else in the room like a table, or a chair, or some valuable piece of machinery that took years of research to develop. Eventually smoke and dust filled the room forcing Gizmo to stop shooting as he lost his target completely.

"Hey!" he exclaimed blindly. "Show yourself you crud-muncher!"

Gizmo soon regretted that order. Silencer leapt up from the dust cloud so fast that Gizmo couldn't react. The assassin used his blinding speed to stab at the twin cannons mounted on Gizmo's shoulders causing them to explode. The resulting explosion then caused Gizmo's tech to suddenly go haywire and sent the boy flying across the room out of control and screaming like the little kid he was.

"Aaaahhh! Get this thing off me!"

Gizmo eventually crashed into a row of tables filled with spare parts. The crash brok all the tables and made a mess while knocking out the boy-genius in the process. Silencer decided that the boy was out of the fight for the moment. Then the assassin was surprised when he suddenly found himself surrounded by Billy Numerous and five of his clones.

"I reckon you outta quit right now, pal!" demanded the original Billy Numerous.

Silencer didn't reply. Billy simply took that as a general refusal and charged in with all five of his clones. Silencer didn't flinch. With blinding speed, the assassin easily fended away the ten Billy clones with super quick jabs and kicks that knocked them all away then finally grabbing the original Billy Numerous by the neck. Billy couldn't move from his position. Silencer slowly and effortlessly lifted him up by his neck until Billy's feet were off the floor. With his other hand, Silencer made ready to jab his dagger at something that will hurt a lot. Billy started to sweat a bit.

"Release him!" ordered Fallacy from the side.

Silencer turned in her direction just in time to see the business end of her rope dart fly at him and impale the arm that carried Billy Numerous. The impact caused the assassin to let go of the hillbilly villain and Billy quickly scurried away to a safer distance.

Silencer simply stood there not moving for a second or two. Fallacy observed with some surprise as the assassin barely registered the impact and did not even express any discomfort about the fact that his arm was impaled and his nice Armani suit was ruined. Silencer casually reached up his other hand and yanked the dart from his arm. The wound didn't even bleed a single drop of the red stuff which surprised Fallacy even more. Silencer kept his hold on he dart and started to grab the rope with his now free hand and started to pull on it. Fallacy felt her Kevlar rope lose all slack and then she suddenly found herself being pulled towards the assassin. She tried to fight back but found her strength to pale in comparison to his. Her feet were sliding across the floor as Silencer kept pulling her closer.

"Hey!" exclaimed See-More as he suddenly appeared on Fallacy's side. "Why don't you try this?"

See-More turned the knob on the side of his helmet then promptly blasted Silencer with a large ray of heat-vision. Silencer quickly let go of Fallacy's dart and jumped to the side. See-More's heat blast missed Silencer completely and blew soothing else up that was behind the assassin. Silencer stood straight and readied his dagger for another charge at the two teens when he was suddenly interrupted yet again. This time, Kid Wykkyd appeared quite literally out of nowhere right next to Silencer and shot out with a helicopter kick.

Silencer was faster than that and the assassin quickly grabbed onto Kid Wykkyd's leg as it was about to hit him and toss the teen aside like a ragdoll. Kid Wykkyd had enough agility to recover from that toss and managed to get his feet back on the ground. The dark teen leapt towards Silencer who stood his ground patiently. As the HIVE teen came to distance, he started delivering a flurry of jabs and kicks at Silencer. Silencer was again not lacking of speed as the assassin easily blocked all of the attempted blows with just on hand.

While one hand was defending, Silencer's other hand readied his dagger from a swing. Kid Wykkyd had enough of an attention span to notice the movement of the dagger. As Silencer swung out his blade, Kid Wykkyd jumped back. The blade barely missed the teen's chest but managed to cut a large gash on the teen's cape. The sudden attack caused Kid Wykkyd to go off balance and he suddenly fell on his back. Silencer capitalized on the moment by leaping into the air and came down with the tip of his dagger aimed at the mute teen's chest.

Kid Wykkyd got out just in time by teleporting out of there just as the blade nailed itself into the floor at least two inches deep. Kid Wykkyd materialized behind Silencer who looked to be stuck to the floor. The teen went for a grab but, yet again, Silencer was just too fast. Silencer had anticipated this attack from behind and promptly kicked a foot out the millisecond Kid Wykkyd made a move. The dark teen was sent flying across the room and into more very expensive machinery.

Silencer eventually yanked his blade off the floor and gently cleaned it with his sleeve. At that moment, Mammoth was already recovered and charged at Silencer from behind with all the grace of an eighteen wheeler truck. Silencer had plenty of time to react and did so by jumping up at the appropriate time and spin kicked Mammoth in the face. Mammoth went and crashed into a bunch of tables as a result. Around that time, Gizmo had also recovered and was surrounding him in tandem with Billy Numerous with even more clones this time. Silencer was as neutral as always with his expression and stance. In the meantime, Fallacy and See-More were planning their next course of action.

"This guy's tough!" commented See-More. "Yo, Fal, why don't you hit him with one of your visisons already?"

"Do you think I have not been trying?" retorted Fallacy. "I can't use my powers on him! Damn the luck!"

"Huh? How come? Is it some kind of psychic barrier like the way Brother Blood blocked your powers?"

"No, it's definitely not that. It's just that…his mind…"

"What about his mind?"

"It doesn't feel alive."

See-More couldn't understand exactly what that meant and, from the look of things, neither did Fallacy herself. By the time their short conversation, Silencer was once again the victor in his small battle against Gizmo and Billy Numerous. The teens were running out of options and their one trump card is ineffective. Fallacy was fearing defeat for her team. But then, just when Silencer was about to charge in and finish things with the HIVE, tha captain made his presence known again.

"Enough," said the captain out loud. Although that was meant for Silencer alone, everybody in the room ceased to move at that request. They all turned their attention to the door where the captain of the henchmen was already outside.

"That's enough for tonight. I have what I need."

Silencer nodded and casually sheathed his dagger back under his suit much to the surprise of the HIVE. Silencer casually strolled out of the room, joining the captain in the hallway. Fallacy was the first to speak up.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "Where do you think you are going? This is not over!"

The captain simply turned around while retrieving the cement shooter from his back. "For tonight, it is…"

The captain then proceeded to blast away her cement hose, not at the HIVE but at the doorway. The red cement liquid quickly dried up and formed a thick barrier that blocked the door. The exit was blocked. Mammoth was the first to move up to the door and threw a fist at the impromptu barrier. The impact cracked the barrier but did not do much damage. They could break it but it would take time. More than enough time for the captain and that Silencer guy to get away cleanly. The captain was right. Tonight, it was over. Fallacy could do no more than to clench her fist in frustration.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nine years ago.

The old woman was still sitting on the front steps of St. Marks Basilica. The sun had set half an hour ago and the square was a lot quieter with a lot less tourist than before. The old woman was enjoying the night breeze on here face which she always found very southing. She waited. She watched as a young couple enjoyed a stroll across the square. Still she waited.

If she could, she would've followed the boy more but the doors were beyond her strength. For all she knew the boy had already gone out the back. Using his talents it would've been exceedingly simple. She wanted to seem like she could stick to him but the only reason she was able to stick to him for this long was because the boy did not run away from her or use his talents. If he truly wanted to he could get away cleanly and they'd never see each other again. She could only hope and wait.

Eventually all her waiting paid off.

From the locked doors of St. Mark's Basilica, the boy's ghostly, intangible figure stepped through. He solidified on the outside and had a resolved expression on his face. The woman turned her head and showed no surprise to his presence but instead gave him a greeting smile. The boy was not surprised himself that the old woman was still there. In fact a very small part of him was thankful she didn't leave. He walked towards the front steps and took a seat not too far from the old woman and they both sat in silence for a while. Eventually the boy felt like he needed to get something off his chest and talked first.

"I used to come to this place often, you know," he said. "I sit on these steps every time I was here, for hours at a time. Whenever I had nothing to do, I would come here and sit at this spot. All for a stupid reason. A very stupid reason…I never knew my father much. I was two and a half years old when he left and never came back. My last memory of him was when he had a gun to my face. He didn't have the guts to pull the trigger and so he just left. I was four years old when my mother said she wanted to give me a tour of the Venice. We drove for God knows how many miles and that whole time she never looked me in the eye. She took me here first, St. mark's square, and that was the very first time I've been here. We sat here for a while. I tried to talk to her but she never talked back to me. I was sitting on this spot when she stood up and told me she forgot something and had to go get it. She told me to wait here and that she'll be back as quickly as she could…She left…I waited right here."

He paused for a while. The old woman was listening intently to his story this whole time. She waited patiently for him to continue.

"I waited for her to come back." He continued. "I sat on this spot…for three whole days…just waiting for her. Eventually I fainted from thirst, hunger, and from holding my urine in my bladder for too long. A priest who was visiting from Rome noticed me, half-dead on the front steps of the basilica. He took me to a hospital where I eventually recovered after a week and a half. When I did, they asked me why I was sitting here for three days straight. I told them that I was waiting for my mom. They asked me where I lived and I told them. Later they told me that the place was empty. All the furniture was gone and the walls were bare. No one was in that house for days, they said…The priest told me he would take me to an orphanage he served in when he was returning to Rome the next day. He said it was good and I could make a home there. I didn't give any kind of answer straight away and he let me think about it for a day. I escaped the hospital that night and never saw him again. Since then…I've been coming to this spot, sitting here, just waiting…hoping…until about two years later I wised up…She was gone…I was alone…"

He became quiet once again. The boy's eyes seemed glued to a pot on the ground. The old woman didn't speak yet. Again there was silence between the two that lasted for quite a while. A flock of doves flew overhead that caught the boy's attention and finally got him to look up. He remembered that that was the last thing he saw. On his third day of waiting, just when the thirst, the hunger, and the cramping in his tummy from holding it in for too long getting too unbearable, he looked up and saw a flock of doves fly overhead. He fainted the next second and woke up in a hospital bed much later.

He turned to the old woman that sat beside him at the present. "You should understand that it's pretty hard for me to trust people. All my life people have either been running away from me or trying to kill me. So you have to understand that whatever you're offering won't interest me. Now please just leave me alone."

He got up and started to walk away. The old woman didn't make a motion to follow him and he wasn't surprised. He shared his story to her for one reason only. He wanted to her to get a glimpse of what it was like to wait for something so desperately and yet fully know that it will never come. He had enough of waiting. He had enough of false promises. He was on his own always and forever.

"You know," spoke up the old woman, "very few people in this world have what you have and there a millions out there who would sacrifice all that they have to attain it. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

The boy stopped, genuinely interested in what the woman was saying. "No. What is it?"

"Freedom."

The boy turned around and gave the woman a skeptical look. "What are you talking about? Plenty of people have freedom. Especially those Americans and their democracy."

"They don't have a freedom like yours."

"Exactly what kind of freedom do I have then?"

"You're freedom is absolute. You have nothing to hold you down, not even a family. You have no obligation to anyone. You live simply by the choices you make and through nothing else. There are plenty of people in this world who would give up their most precious possessions for a freedom like yours. Tell me, if you did not already have this freedom, would you still want it?"

For some reason the boy found he was at a loss for words. For some reason, he also couldn't get his feet to move even though they were fine.

The old woman sighed. "What I want is for you to join a team I'm trying to build."

"…What kind of team."

"A team whose methods are complicated, whose terms are hazy, whose exact objectives are never certain, and whose members will be ignored by the world at large. But this team will have one very simple purpose: to keep the world safe."

"And you want me to be part of this nut-fest?"

"Well actually, there is no nut-fest yet. If you were to join you would be the first one. I just came up with the idea some days ago."

"…Right."

"So, are you still interested? Not many people can say they were the first at something."

"So…If I do agree to try this thing out, I'll be the first member of some ill-conceived idea of a team that supposed to keep the world safe."

"You can try it out if you want to. It's still you're choice."

"If I don't like it, what do you think you can do to stop me from leaving."

"We both already know that, if you would do so, there is nothing I, or anyone, can do to stop you from leaving."

"Exactly…so you better hope I don't…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Outside STAR Labs, fourteen hours later.

Standing by the gate where some security guards who were recently knocked out were receiving some medical attention, Cyborg scanned the area with his mechanical eye the general area around the gate. Through his several vision modes he was able to detect footprints that were distinctive to the kind left Chang's men as well as some new treads they had yet to identify. He followed the foot prints but it was hard considering they were all over the place but were also strangely coordinated. These men knew what they were doing when they busted in here. Cyborg pressed on.

He followed the tire tracks of the reportedly stolen truck which was what the henchmen used all the way to where it was parked. Not far from the truck was an open door and Cyborg wasn't surprised that the electronic lock of the door was tampered with. That solved the mystery of how Chang's men broke in and The HIVE probably followed close behind Raven and Beast Boy will be able to give him more pieces to the puzzle later on after they're done investigating the inside of the labs. For now, Cyborg needed to stay outside and watch _him_.

Cyborg thought it was somewhat ironic. Watching over the Watcher. The boy in question was standing right were he was standing this whole time. Watcher was leaning on the side of the front end of the recently repaired T-car, quietly making his own private observations of the situation. Cyborg walked over to join him.

"Looks like you were right," said Cyborg, leaning on the T-car's fender. "Chang and the HIVE's been here that's for sure. We'll know more as soon as Rae and BB are done snooping around inside."

"Chances are they'll find a few things missing," said Watcher. "If the rest of my information is right, Chang only came here to do some shopping, if you know what I mean."

"I do. But that still doesn't explain why the HIVE was here from the look of things."

"For the HIVE…or at least one of them…this is more of a private vendetta. You know the one named Fallacy?"

"Yeah. Ever since she showed up, Chang seems to be the new priority for the HIVE. Why?"

"It's because she was screwed over big time. Also, Chang was partly responsible for Brother Blood's death. Fallacy idolized Brother Blood and to have him stabbed in the back by that old guy lead her to swear revenge on Chang. She even dragged all the former students of HIVE along for the ride. She must be very convincing if she could--"

"Hold up! Blood is dead?"

"What, you didn't know?"

"But…how in the…it can't…How did _you_ know?"

"I'm the Watcher. I'm supposed to know. The last time I was monitoring this side of the hemisphere, I caught wind of a little operation going on in the east coast involving Chang and Blood. I spent a great deal of time to monitor what they were doing until I figured out the whole extent of their plans."

"So you just kept on monitoring? You didn't do anything about it?"

"Of course I did something about it. What good is information when nobody uses it? But since I thought that the scenario was not big enough that I had to involve myself directly, I did the one other thing I could do while remaining hidden. I leaked information to the Titans East. If I didn't they might've never known about this until it was too late. But once my information got to them, they started doing the hero thing and I just sat back and kept watching from a distance. I had to keep an eye on the situation until it was settled and keep relaying any valuable info to my superiors who sent me there in the first place. I guess there was a turning point when an unexpected character suddenly became known. It was so big a turning point that when I reported it my own Master insisted on taking care of it personally. But in the end none of that was important. What was important was that the world was saved…again. The world had one less villain and one new hero. Can't tell you who that is but it's good news nonetheless. Chang escaped though, that's the bad news."

"Is that why you're here? You're going after Chang?"

"After what happened in Steel City, Professor Chang became a high priority target. We waited until he resurfaced. When he did he was up to something again. Something big enough to attract our attention again. Since we weren't sure where he is, I came to Jump city to find clues to his whereabouts. But things didn't go so well and Chang was nowhere in that city. And also, Fallacy came back so suddenly looking for him then everything just went haywire. Things were happening faster than any of us could cope with. That's why I decided to approach you guys."

"You needed our help, you mean."

"And you needed mine."

"Now, wait up a minute, we…Yeah I guess we did need your help. Heaven knows we never would've known about this place. I mean c'mon…Canada…of all places."

"We all have to do our part now. I for one don't mind getting my hands dirty every once in a while or mingling with guys like you. Whatever it takes to get the job done."

Just then, Cyborg's built-in communicator beeped. He opened the small screen on his arm and saw Raven's image. "Yo, Rae, what's up?"

"The cleaning bill for one thing," said Raven. "The place is a mess in here. Anyway we need you here, Cyborg. Come in and bring _him_ with you."

"On our way. Cy out."

Cyborg then turned to his new companion and motioned for him to come along. Watcher obediently moved off the T-car and followed Cyborg into the labs. Through the entrance they walked down a long corridor to the room that was the subject of investigation. As they walked down the corridor, they passed by several police officers who were escorting handcuffed henchmen to their cars waiting outside.

"You know, you've been pretty timid lately," said Cyborg, earning an inquiring look from Watcher. "Not that I don't appreciate you being very cooperative and all. I just figured you to be a little more outspoken."

Watcher turned his head back to the direction they were going. "Normally, I am. But at the moment I'm around people like you so I act this way now."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow and looked down on Watcher. "People _like_ me?"

Watcher didn't bother looking back up at Cyborg when he answered. "People who don't trust me."

Cyborg paused in his stride for a moment as Watcher continued on. The taller ten eventually caught up and kept paced with Watcher. "What gave you that idea?"

Watcher simply stared at Cyborg skeptically.

"Hey, man, if this is about that little episode on the rooftop the other day, we admit that was a mistake. Beside's Raven is just like that. Give it a couple of years and you'll get used to her too."

"I know that. But that's not really the issue."

"Then what is the issue?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Look man, we both know we need each other's help and we both want to work together. And here you suddenly say that we don't trust you. That ain't healthy, man."

"You don't trust me. I know it and so do you. You just won't admit it. Like I said was reluctant to get involved with you guys in the first place. It wasn't because I didn't think you were up to the job. In all honesty I think you guys are the only one who can take care of this mess at the moment. But, I knew the moment I said I wanted to help you, I'd already remind you of _her._"

"Who's her?"

"You know."

It took Cyborg about four and a half seconds to figure out exactly who he was talking about. It took him a lot of willpower to keep on walking after realization hit him.

"You're not supposed to know about that."

"I specialize in surveillance. That puts me in the habit of knowing things I'm not supposed to. Believe me that's not what I'd call an ideal situation."

"How much do you know about her?"

"More than you think."

"Then you should understand some things too. You should understand what she did and what that meant to the rest of us Titans. We wanted to help her but she turned her back to us. It was a mistake for her to turn to someone like Slade. But it was a mistake for us to give on her as well. It wasn't just her betrayal, man. It was our failure to her as well. We gave up on her to quickly. And now…well at least she got a second chance, and I'm glad she did. You know she's alive again right?"

"Yup. Of course she doesn't have any memory or powers now. But that's what I'm saying is causing you to not trust me. I think this goes for everyone on this team and not just you. You _want_ to trust me, I know but there's something inside that can't do that, am I right? Deep down you still can't let go of that fear of betrayal. I'm not blaming you. I understand you guys."

"Really? You really think that you understand us about this issue?"

This time Watcher did look up at Cyborg. "Let's just say that I also have that little part that has a hard time trusting people too. I'm no stranger to betrayal."

"…Oh…I see."

The two of them were already deep into the labs. They had already passed several hallways and corridors. By now they were pretty close to where they were supposed to meet Raven and Beast Boy. Before they could reach the room, Watcher just had one last piece of conversation to settle.

"Tell me something though," said Watcher grabbing Cyborg's attention. "Would you like her back? If it could be, would want her to come back as a Titan?"

Cyborg hesitated for a couple of seconds before answering. "Well, right now, like just said, she's living a normal life now. It would be best if she stayed this way and that she'd never have to go do the hero thing anymore. I believe things are better this way…"

Watcher smirked back at him. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Well, here's Chap 14. Lot's of crazy stuff here. Silencer's back from my last fic up to something new and those guys in them ruins are getting themselves in some hot water. Also a little more of Watcher revealed. More surprises to come next time. Please R&R!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: No, they are still not mine.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

A long time ago.

Inside the funhouse.

"I lost my communicator!" exclaimed Beast Boy. "Gimme yours!"

"I don't have it," replied Terra.

"Then we've gotta get back to the Tower and--"

Terra dipped her face down to avoid his glance. "Beast Boy, I'm not going back. I can't."

"What? Why can't you?"

A voice bellowed out from somewhere in the darkness to answer. "Because she's not your friend."

Beast boy turned his head in one direction to see the image of their most hated nemesis, Slade, appear in one of the mirrors. Beast boy was taken by surprise but Terra was docile as ever.

"She's my apprentice," declared Slade.

Beast Boy wasn't sure what was going on. Slade was somewhere in the place and they needed to get out, get help. Beast boy turned to where terra was standing just a while ago but Terra was suddenly gone.

"Terra?" called Beast Boy but received no answer. "Terra!"

He was alone. Beast Boy was as confused as he could ever get. He did his best to suppress the panic that was welling within him. It didn't help when Slade's reflection spread across the mirrored room.

"The girl you knew was merely an illusion," Slade's voice echoed. "A fantasy. In reality, she's been working for me."

"That's a lie!" Beast boy charged at one of the mirrors and broke it with a hard punch. His anger allowed him to ignore the pain. Slade continued to speak. The changeling was getting in a rage now. Beast Boy rushed over and smashed every mirror he thought that spoke.

Slade was still there however. "I found her," he said. I trained her to control her impressive powers. And then I sent her to destroy your little Tower from the inside out."

By now, almost every mirror in the place was shattered and Beast Boy's hand was close to bleeding. Only one solitary mirror was left in that particular room that continued to carry Slade's image. Beast Boy couldn't believe his ears, no matter how much his animalistic powers made them more accurate than normal human ears. He stood resiliently in vain. He wouldn't dare believe any of this trash about his best friend working for their worst enemy.

"No! Terra would never--"

"Tonight her orders were to strike. But I guess she took pity on you. Perhaps she wanted to keep you as a pet. However, despite this minor error in judgment, she _was_ kind enough to deactivate the security at Titans Tower. Your friends are being annihilated as we speak."

"Liar!"

"Beast Boy…it's the truth."

That was Terra's voice this time. Beast Boy turned to the one unbroken mirror which had slid aside to reveal Slade and Terra standing side-by-side. Beast Boy heard what she said clearly. She didn't stutter, didn't mispronounce a word. It had to be a lie, he told himself. A joke maybe. The changeling looked for any sign of dishonesty, deception, or, God forbid, humor in Terra's facial expression. There was none. Beast Boy took a fumbling step toward them, his whole face went slack and his eyes staring at Terra in disbelief.

"Terra…" he struggled to say. "why?"

"Because you could never give her what she needs," answered Slade for them."

Primal rage took over the green changeling from there as he transformed into a tiger and pounced on the pair. Terra dunked out of the way and Slade engaged the changeling at close range. Slade grabbed Beast Boy in mid-air and easily tosses him into a dark space close by. Beast Boy got up quickly to try that move again but, as the green tiger got up, he was promptly met with the muzzle of Slade's blaster. Slade let out a shot which nailed Beast Boy and floored him. Slade had every advantage and moved in for the kill. Simply turn the blaster into a higher intensity and shoot at point blank; there was no easier kill.

From the side, Terra gasped in surprised and instinctively readied her hands for battle. "No! I won't let you hurt my friend!"

Slade turned to her as if she just told a joke. "Dear child, you don't have any friends."

A shadow loomed over Slade. The villain turned his attention back to Beast Boy just in time to see the changeling transformed into a bear. The green grizzly swiped down a huge paw at Slade, cutting gouges in his armor. Slade dropped his gun in the process and was floored. Beast Boy went in to pin down the villain and Slade struggled to make sure the bear's claws dig no deeper than his armor.

In the midst of all this, Terra watched the fight take place. She briefly thought of a number of effective attacks that would force Beast Boy off of Slade and then leave him defenseless. She could lift a concrete slab of the floor and shoot it towards him. A bear that was distracted was a big and easy enough target after all. It was an easy shot to finish off the Titan once and for--

Wait! Why was she targeting Beast Boy? Shouldn't she be targeting Slade? The thought shot across her mind like a bullet through the head. That's right! You're a hero. Do something heroic! Open a pit under them for Slade to sink in so that Beast Boy could escape. It would be easy too. Just finish this and you can—

What? Go back to the tower? There is no tower anymore, remember? You let Slade's commando bots in there. The rest of the Titans are probably done for by now. All that was left was the green one. Finish him off and put him out of his misery. Make your Slade proud. After all, he is your master—

No, he's not! You already have a true master and it's not that lunatic. You still have a choice. End this the right way.

Terra was confused beyond measure. Thoughts swirled in her head so much that she thought it was going to explode. She couldn't take it anymore. So she did what she was always doing all her life. She ran.

She ran out of the room which held the battle. She ran down a short mirrored hall into another room that was predictably filled with even more mirrors. She gasped at the sight of her own image and was taken aback. She turned to another direction and only saw her image again She kept on turning only to keep seeing her face, distorted by her own confusion and fear. Eventually, she broke down. With Tears pouring from her eyes, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Boy, I'm sorry," she said, "I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Then why did you let it?" asked Beast Boy. His face bore no sympathy for her. Only disgust.

Terra stood up to quickly face him. "I don't know, okay? I don't know. Slade…he helped me, saved me from myself. He said I owed him, but--"

"So it was all a game? You were just pretending?"

"No." She mustered up enough courage to take a step towards him and tried to reach out with her hand. "You said you'd be my friend no matter what, remember?"

Beast Boy replied with a stone-cold glare and turned away. "Slade was right. You don't have any friends."

Terra was taken aback. Her mind was empty at that point. Everything had to shut down and reboot. It wouldn't have made a difference if Beast Boy took a baseball bat and smacked her upside the head with it. Terra knew at that point it was over.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day. Marmot Island, Alaska.

With winter fast approaching, snow was already making its annual journey down to mother earth. The mountainous land was steadily being covered by a blanket of pure white. There next to no signs of animal life and absolutely no sign of civilization. Marmot was officially and unpopulated area after all. Nothing but wildlife. But as for that day, there was one sure human presence.

For her, the cold temperature was bearable. She had been in colder weather before. Or at least she remembers what it's like to be in colder weather before. Her wardrobe, though not really designed for this sort of weather kept her at a reasonable temperature anyway with only most of her arms exposed to the outside world.

She wore heavy-looking, black industrial boots that left a heavy footprint wherever she stepped. Above those, she wore thick, yet snug, black cargo pants that had a bright yellow stripe that ran down the side of each leg. It was held onto her waist by a utility belt, also bright yellow. For her top, she wore a snug, short-sleeved jacket colored in black and yellow where the sleeves, shoulders, hood, and the collar were black while the rest of the jacket was bright yellow. Her hands had a black, leather, fingerless glove each.

The hood of her jacket covered most of her face in a shadow and her eyes were covered by her tinted goggles due to the glare that was coming from the snow on the ground. She kept walking a leisurely pace not really in a hurry but not really slacking either. She passed a small forest, not really bothering to take in any of the natural beauty of it. She wasn't there for the guided tour. She exited the forest eventually and took a hike up one steep mountain slope. She looked up at the peak. Beyond it laid her objective. She started climbing.

The first few hundred feet was no big deal. Anybody could've easily walked that without trouble and for her it was a breeze. True, she had faster means of going up but she decided to stick to the ground mainly for two reasons. One: the physical activity regulated the heat in her body to balance out the cold from the outside. Two: she wanted to avoid detection. The island was officially unpopulated. But she didn't believe so.

After she got three-hundred and fifty feet above sea-level the mountain slop got steeper and steeper. She had to use her arms more which was fine since it warmed the exposed skin of her upper limbs. Around five hundred or so feet up, there was not mush of a mountain slope anymore. Instead it was more like a wall. Nothing but rock for the two hundred or so feet straight up.

She looked up then around. It would take too long to go around and she needed to finish her job her before nightfall since by then the temperatures would be too cold to bare. She'd have to get back to town by then. No choice but to go straight up.

She looked to the ground at her feet. She raised a hand to about waist level with the palm facing down. The hand started to glow a barely noticeable golden glow. Suddenly the ground around her feet crack and separate a small slab of rock from the rest of the mountain. The slab of rock that was only big enough for the girl to stand on slowly lifted off the ground carrying the girl with it. The girl didn't move an inch and kept her hand in that position as the rock that carried her all the way up to the wall and to the peak.

At the peak, she willed the rock forward and it landed softly on the elevated ground. As it did, the slab of rock seemed to almost melt into the mountain again and soon it was no longer obvious that it was ever separated from it. The girl looked ahead and was thankful to see that the next part of the hike seemed to be manageable on foot again. She continued forward.

She continued her hike without problems for the next few dozen feet up and actually went over the top and she was now traveling down across some very rocky terrain. Nothing she was unfamiliar with. She walked across a small chasm and came out the other side facing a deep ravine. She didn't even stop walking.

The girl merely lifted her hand and it started glowing with a slight golden hue again. Suddenly rocks from all over the ground lifted up and floated in the air in front of her. As she neared the ravine, the rocks floated down to a strategic spot right near the edge where the girl's foot came down to. As she left one end of the ravine, the rocks that were floating in mid-air moved under her feet to create stepping stones preventing a nasty fall down below. She reached the other end with no problem at all and the rocks floated back down to the ground where they rested.

A few more minutes of hiking and she reached the other side of the mountain. She found herself looking down a steep slide of rock that sank into a small valley deep in the mountains. She looked around and saw nothing but walls of rock that reached just as high as she was at that moment. She looked down on the ravine and found her objective.

Amongst the valley of natural rock there is a small piece of man-made rock. At the bottom of the valley there was an artificial concrete structure that resembled an airplane hanger that seemed to be built right into the side of the mountain. The structure's smooth surface and straight walls and edges were a stark contrast to the jagged, rocky mountains beside it. Despite that, it was hard to spot, mostly due to the snow and the concrete having the same color as the surrounding mountain. The girl found it easily only due to the fact that she actually knew where and what she was looking for.

The girl hid behind a rock which covered most of her form and peeked out of the side. You never know what kind of surveillance that place might have. Even though she was at least a few hundred meters away from the hanger and telescopic surveillance cameras were unlikely, she decided to cover her bases anyway.

She knelt down and put her palm to the ground. She reached out with her sense of touch which was greatly expanded with her powers. Even though she was this far away, she could feel it through the earth beneath her. A mix of mechanized activity coming from within the facility below. Even at that distance she could make out details, even the individual pitter-patter of rushing feet. That was the place, no doubt about it now.

She rose up again. She brought a hand up to her head and slowly pulled back the hood of her jacket. This revealed her light-skinned face and smooth, neck-length blonde hair. That same had also moved the goggles and pulled them down to hang on her neck and reveal her soft, blue eyes.

Silicis continued to look down with a look of determination on her face. "I finally found you…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Four years ago.

"I think it's time for you to show me a sample of your abilities, my dear," said Brother Blood.

They were on some roof in the middle of the city looking down into the street where some young teens were enjoying the night scene. Dow below and across the street was dance club. It was apparently full since the two bouncers up front was no longer permitting anymore people to get in. Outside was a growing throng of people who were anxiously waiting for their turn to enter.

The girl observed the various kinds of people as they chatted and mingled while waiting outside. She thought of what she might do and how she might do it. If she could affect the right person at the right time, the possible outcome would be nothing short of spectacular. But that was the limitation of her power and she knew it. It was fine for her to manipulate someone when that someone was face to face with her. Handling a crowed was something she generally tried to avoid. But still, she knew, do one person right and the domino effect will take over.

She scanned the scene, taking her time to pick a target. She knew from experience the wonders of patience. She the wonders of actually taking all the time she needs to plan and back-up plan everything you're about to do. Most people, especially of her kind, are not really known for this characteristic. Guess that made her special, she once thought but she also supposed that she was special enough as it was.

All this time, Brother Blood was standing by on the side observing her, genuinely impressed with her calm exterior and her patience, though he figured why this was long ago. She was calm and patient because she knew her opponents were distant and did not know about her. He remembered how she reacted when _he_ came up to her and demonstrated his immunity to her powers. She has a lousy tendency to panic when she knew she lost her advantage. That would have to be fixed if she was to become his student, perhaps some martial arts discipline might help. The girl had picked her target by now. Brother Blood could tell by the steady rate of glowing in her cat-like eyes.

Down below in front of the dance club.

"Bloody hell, will you just let us in!" demanded one of the people outside. "It's bloody freezing out here!"

"Yeah," said another patron by his side. "It's gotta big enough in there, isn't it."

All around them the crowd was also starting to get a little riled up. The bouncers standing in front of the door kept the scowl on their face as he always did. He wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Look," said one of the bouncers. "Place is full. You can't go in yet!"

"That's bull, mate!"

"Hey," said the other bouncer, "the only way your getting in there is if the people inside decide they're done. And unless somebody jumps out the windows kicking and screaming, you all are just gonna have to wait out here."

Suddenly, somebody jumps straight through one of the windows, breaking it into tiny shards of glass and started rolling around and kicking on the concrete sidewalk yelling "Fire! Fire!"

Less than three seconds after this happened several other people who were in the club started coming out, some through the front door, much to the surprise of the two bouncers, and most others through the other windows, littering the sidewalk with broken glass. A few seconds later a fire alarm was heard. By then everybody inside and outside the dance club was already in a frenzy of panic.

Eventually, the neighbors started to get wind of the alarm and people were rushing out of places other than the club. The screams of the crowds woke up other people who started panicking and screaming as well who then in turn alarmed other people and this continued all the way down at least seven blocks. The only two calm people were the girl and Brother Blood on the rooftop of the building across the street from the club. Blood looked authentically impressed. Fallacy didn't look anything.

"There's no fire," said the girl, "but with all this panicking going on I won't be surprised if somebody accidentally started a real one."

Blood chuckled heartily. "Very impressive. It would seem your own little, metaphorical fire has spread rather quickly."

"But I couldn't affect them all. Just that one guy inside the club itself."

"That doesn't matter. Look below, child. Look at what came from one man's panic."

The crowds below had gotten very much out of hand, the girl observed. A distance away, it looked like that someone did start a fire, though it was simply a small fire caused by what seemed to be somebody's stove. These people were too panicked to do anything about it. The fire might spread but the fire department would've been there in time to stop it before it got out of control. She even thought she could hear the sirens already but in the throng of screaming people she couldn't be sure.

"It looks like you already know the basics," said Brother Blood.

"Huh?"

"You seem to already know the true meaning of fear and terror. You know how to manipulate it and use it the way you need it to work or you. You already know that fear is your ultimate tool and you use it wisely."

"But…I'm not hat powerful. My powers only work for one person at a time. And even though it doesn't require that much concentration, I'm still vulnerable unless I get the jump on them."

"And what is wrong with that?"

The girl looked up at the older man with slight confusion.

"You see, my dear," continued Brother Blood, "many people confuse the idea of power to mean how much ability one has to _directly_ influence their surroundings. That's why some many people focus mainly on improving their own personal potential. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Everyone has to improve themselves. But that's beside my point. Power not only lies in direct influence but also indirect influence as well."

"I don't quite understand."

"It's simple to see yourself as a single individual inside this environment, my dear. But those with true power see themselves, not just in the environment, but _as _the environment themselves. This is why the two terms "all-powerful" and "omnipotent" are synonymous with each other. Power comes from how you treat you're surroundings as an extension of yourself. And how that happens is directly linked to how you use your own individual abilities. If one seeks true power, one must learn to use his abilities to manipulate things around him to go the way he wants to go. Look down there again."

The girl did so. By now the small fire somebody else started from somewhere else other than the dance club had somehow spread to the neighboring building. Firefighters had just arrived but progress was slower than usual due to the panicked crowds. The police would probably have a hard time sorting this out later, what with people saying the fire started at the club and not somewhere else. More chaos to follow late then.

"his is the true potential of _your_ power, my dear," said Brother Blood.

As she continued to watch the chaos down below, a feeling was growing within her that she didn't recognize at first. She thought of what would happen as a result of her little prank. Mountains of insurance payouts from injuries and property damage. Hundreds of man-hours spent on a useless investigation. Confusion for the number of people down below that will probably make them more than a little paranoid and, if she was lucky enough, would cause psychological trauma somewhere. In short: utter chaos. She eventually figured out what the feeling was.

She smiled to herself. She felt proud.

Brother Blood saw this and grinned. "So, are you ready to begin your education?"

The girl looked back up at. "Yes, I am…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere north of Greenland.

The four Titans, Robin, Starfire, Kole, and Gnarrk, stood at the end of the cave and stared out into the ancient ruins that stretched out in front of them. Robin and Starfire, having only seen the ruins for the first time, stared in awe. Kole and Gnarrk also had a more reserved sense of awe. Though the two honorary Titans have been here before, they couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer vastness of it all and how, for thousands of years, this place could have survived.

"It is more magnificent," said Starfire, "than what I have imagined through your descriptions friends Kole and Gnarrk."

"Yeah, guess we really didn't do it justice. did we?" replied Kole.

"It's amazing how such a place was unheard of by humans for so long."

"I don't know about that, Star," said Robin.

The three other Titans turned to see Robin crouched low to the ground ands seemed to be picking up something off the ground with his fingers. Robin stood up and examined the small item he was holding which to the untrained eye will simply look like a broken piece of metal. The rest of the group tilted their heads curiously.

"What is it, Robin?" inquired Starfire.

"An aglet."

"Oh…I see…what is that?"

"It's one of those little plastic things that you put at the end of a shoelace to stop the lace from unraveling and it also helps in actually tying the lace. I can easily tell from the length and material that this was used in an old-style hiking boot."

"Leave it to you, Robin," said Kole, "to have an encyclopedic knowledge on footwear accessories."

Robin flashed turned to Kole with a smirk. "It comes in handy at times. More than you'd expect."

"I'm sure."

Robin took a closer look at the object with his well-trained eye. "I can tell that this thing is probably decades old. So I'm guessing that neither we, nor Chang's men are the first people to discover this place and go poking around."

Kole and Starfire looked at each other with slight confusion. That was a strange notion. This place _was_ discovered already and yet this was the first time any of them has heard of it. Why is that? Surely something of this magnitude would have even Indiana Jones barricading down its doorstep. Or at least that's what Beast boy would've said. Starfire couldn't understand the reference of the saying but she understood what it meant.

"If this has already been discovered," inquired Starfire, "then why has it not been announced?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," said Robin. "This has happen plenty of times before."

Kole raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Really? Like when?"

"Like the Lazarus Pits. They held the secrets of immortality and longevity and yet was kept secrete by its discoverers, the League of Shadows and its leader, Ra's Al Ghul. There are several others like that where the initial discovery was always covered up."

"Why would they do such a thing?"

"All for the same reason really: Power. The Lazarus Pits gave Ra's Al Ghul immortality which allowed him to be a perpetual pain in the neck for the whole world for hundreds of years. Each of those covered-up discoveries held a secret of power that the original discoverers' wanted to use for themselves. It's an old story: ancient knowledge being misused for evil. I'm guessing it's the same here, where we are now."

"Hmm, I see. Good point."

"But there in lies the question," said Starfire. "What kind of power did this place have that prompted its discoverers' silence?"

"I'm not sure yet, but that's what I'm aiming to find out. Kole, where was this site where you guys saw the henchmen digging?"

"We'll lead you guys there. C'mon Gnarrk."

Kole hops onto Gnarrk's back and the caveman started to go forward deeper into the ruins with Robin and Starfire not far behind. As they passed down the roads as memorized by the two honorary Titans, Robin and Satrfire did some looking around as they continued on. They noted the types of structures around them and their distinctive styles of architecture. They noted the roads and pathways on the ground. They noted the number of statues depicting tall alien-like creatures that resembled nothing they had seen before. They noted the huge crystal attached to the ceiling of the enormous chamber feeding in natural light.

All in all they were amazed by the entire place. The civilization that made this must've been highly advanced in their heyday, possibly even more so that current human civilization. They wondered how an advanced civilization like this might have lived and progressed. What could it have possibly discovered? What technologies made up the backbone of their industries? All these questions were worth answering but eventually, a question drifted into the Titans' mind that they would need more answering than anything else.

"Why do you suppose this civilization no longer exist, Robin?" asked Starfire.

Robin was already contemplating the same question. He had no easier time finding an answer than anyone else present. "I have no idea, Star."

The party eventually reached the center of the cavern where the large floor mosaic spanned around them. In the middle was a dug out pit leading to depths yet unknown to the teens. Kole and Gnarrk looked around and thought that the mosaic seemed smaller from the last time they saw it from atop a balcony. It was a lot grander when one was actually standing in it. Robin and Starfire probably thought the same thing to.

"Here it is!" exclaimed Kole.

Gnarrk grunted to the same tune. Robin and Starfire looked to where the honoraries were referring to. They referred to the large pit in the center of the mosaic. Robin and Starfire moved toward it with a calculated level of caution. The two Titans stared into the pit and the darkness that went in deep. The natural light that was coming from the ceiling barely penetrated more than a few dozen feet and the pit simply kept going down into darkness more. Robin reached into his utility belt and took out one of his many ingenious devices. The device was about the size of a small cellular phone with a large circular antenna.

"What is that, Robin?" inquired Kole.

"A sonar device," answered Robin as he pointed the thing down into the hole and turned the thing on. "Handy for reading area and distance when sight is not available. Hmm…let's see…"

A few second later, the device beeped and Robin looked at the small led screen that displayed a number that resulted scan. "It looks to be about eight stories all the way to the bottom of this hole," said Robin. "That's a long way down."

Kole was now off of Gnarrk and peering over the edge as well. "Chang's men were able to go down there and take that thing I told you guys about."

"If that is so," said Starfire, "then we can go down there as well. We should investigate this further and find clues as to what we are up against."

"Agreed," said Robin.

"Hey guys," called out Kole. "A while ago you were talking about how whatever people built this place are now gone, right? I mean it makes no sense to me too, how a civilization like this could simply be gone. But, honestly, I think whatever happened to the people who used to live here was pretty bad and that whatever Chang's men has something to do with it."

"Exactly," said Robin. "And we'd better figure this out before the same things happen to _our_ civilization. Let's go, Titans."

The group of four started their descent not knowing what was in store of them all.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Not much to say. I just recently read _Supergirl_ #12. Apparently there's a new Terra roaming around in the DC Universe who seems pretty interesting. DC says they'll do a mini series on this new Terra. I'm thinking of incorporating some of this new Terra's characteristics into Silicis but I might not. Who knows? Well anyway, see you next update!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Hmm, let me check what I own…a nail cutter, a pair of scissors, a Pioneer DVD player, an electric fan, a "Minutes to Midnight" album…when did I get that?...a pair of slippers, a bag of Twizzlers…but no Teen Titans!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Twenty-four years ago.

The scream of their fellow teammate prompted the rest of the group to look in the general direction of the seemingly troubled man. They found him on the floor, shaking nervously as he was narrowly missed by a gigantic spear that was imbedded on the floor right between his spread-eagled legs. The man quickly got up and moved away from the large statue of an ancient warrior began to yank out its weapon from the floor.

The rest of the group were more than a little stunned to find their companion being attacked by what they initially assumed as to be an inanimate object. But, as the statue began to move again and pointed its spear threateningly at them, they all snapped back to their senses.

"Watch yourselves!" exclaimed Evans.

The statue thrust its spear into the group as the group itself spit in different directions. The spear pierced deep into the floor and caused the entire room to rumble slightly. Evans was the first to get back to her feet and reach into her coat. She pulled out a Webley Mk VI Revolver and began unloading on the statue's face. All six shots bored deep holes in the statue's complexion but proved very ineffective at stopping the thing. Evans was already in the process of reloading, breaking the top of her Webley to eject the spent rounds and prepared to load in fresh ones.

The statue, after Evans' attacks failed, had already pulled out its spear from the floor and was preparing to thrust it down again on the female guide. Evans saw this as she finished reloading. Fear started filling her eyes and she was almost frozen as she could see the tip of the spear pointed straight at her.

As the statue was about to thrust, it was forced out of the process of its attack by severe gunfire that came form one side. Evans turned to see that the rest of her men had already started going on their own offensive, firing away at the statue with their AK-47's. Soon gunfire stated pelting the statue from the other side as well and soon the head and the general bust of the statue was looking a lot like Swiss cheese. But the statue, even though it had no real mind of its own, decided that it would not go down without a fight.

The statue swept the tip of its spear towards one side and almost hit a few of the men who managed to dive out of the way just in time. The spear did nothing but to gash the stone floor of the chamber and damage a pillar. The men stumbled around for a moment before they regained their bearings and got back to shooting. The statue had most of its face and upper torso pelted by gunfire now and was starting to show signs of weariness. It started to step back as the gunfire was almost too much to handle for it and had to find some cover. Evans saw this and recognized it as an opportune moment.

She reached into her jacket again and pulled out what looked like sticks of dynamite. Why did she have dynamite? This wasn't the first time she was a guide on some excavation. She knew from experience that all those "monumental discoveries" were always behind some wall of ruble or some ancient, fifteen-inch thick doors or something. She carried a small amount of dynamite on every expedition just in case. And she was very qualified to handle it. While her current situation didn't match the scenario that she pictured in her head her using the dynamite for, the small amount of explosive seemed just as useful. She reached into her jacket some more and took out the fuses which, for safety reasons, were always distributed separately from the sticks themselves to prevent accidental lightings and explosions. As Evans inserted the fuses to each individual stick of dynamite she turned to one of her companions who was in the middle of reloading a new clip to his weapon.

"Rope!" she exclaimed.

The man she was referring to looked up and acknowledged her order. He reached into his own jacket and pulled out a spare line of thin rope, mainly used for tying a troop together in deep places. The man tossed her the rope as she sprinted towards the feet of the retreating statue. As she ran, Evans expertly tied a bundle of four sticks of dynamite to one end of the rope as well as twisting the four fuses together at the top. By then she was right next to the foot of the statue.

She started to spin the rope with the dynamite over her head like a lasso. She let the rope go at the right moment and successfully got the dynamite tipped end to fly around one of the statues legs, just below the knee, and tie itself to the rest of the rope like a snare. By then the statue had regained some sense of its surroundings and was noticeably aiming its spear down at Evans. Evans only realized this a second or two early enough to jump back as the spear made a new hole in the floor.

With the statue distracted yet again, she rushed to the leg where she tied the rope with dynamite and climbed up it quickly with the rope for aid. When she reached the dynamite tied around just under the knee of the statue, she took out a lighter and quickly lit the fuse on the tied-up explosives. Just then, the statue made a last attempt at getting at her with its weapon. The statue swung the spear towards its leg and Evans. She saw this coming and promptly kicked off the leg just as the spear grazed the soles of her boots. Evans fell to the ground in a ninety degree arch and rolled as she hit the ground to help soften the landing. When she got back up to her feet, she looked up and watched the fuses on the bundled-up dynamite burn until there was no more of the fuses to burn. The inevitable was obvious.

"The bigger they are…" mumbled Evans.

The dynamite exploded with a loud, deafening boom. The force of the blast completely blew the leg off the statue from the knee down. Without a leg to stand on, the statue lost all balance and toppled backwards. The crash to the floor rumbled the entire chamber and even knocked some of the men off-balance. The statue broke apart completely into several pieces on impact rendering it completely lifeless.

After a short and tense moment of silence where nobody moved, one of the men cheered. Soon, the rest of the men followed. Evans started to walk back to the rest of the group with a proud smile on her face. The first person to greet her back was Dr. Cannes.

"Good job, my dear," congratulated Cannes. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Evans shrugged jokingly. "ROTC."

"Right…Well, god job nonetheless."

Dr. Volkov now stepped up to them just the congratulatory cheering seemed to slowly fade. "I think you two are celebrating a little too early."

Both Evans and Cannes gave a skeptical look towards Volkov who replied by simply pointing a slightly shaking finger to something behind him. Evans and Cannes turned to a truly worrying sight. One of the other five remaining statues started moving. It slowly took a step away from where it stood originally and started turning towards the men who were once again readying their AK-47 rifles. Soon they found this to be a useless gesture and another statue started moving as well. Then another. Then another. Then another.

All of remaining five statues were now advancing towards the. Evans and Cannes slowly backed away as the statues grew ever closer. Evans drew her Webley revolver in vain and aimed it at the nearest statue coming towards her. The statues were seemingly neither impressed nor intimidated by the groups act of defense. The nearest to Evans and Cannes slowly raised its spear. Evans turned her head away and prepared herself for her impending doom.

But the strike never came.

Evans bravely looked back up to see that the statue closest to her, along with the rest, was completely frozen. She wore a baffled look. Suddenly a loud mechanical banging sound came from the direction of the altar. Everyone turned to se that Professor Chang had not moved from the spot. They also noticed something different. Both of the buttons he previously pushed before were once again pressed into the lock along with two new ones. Four of the six lights in the inner ring of the lock were now lit.

"I figured it out," said Professor Chang, mostly to himself and not to anyone else present.

He reached down his hand at another one of the buttons. All the men nervously watched and some even shouted out for him to stop. Chang ignored them all and pressed the button. A mechanical sound once again rang through the chamber. The outer ring spun until it was in line with the small knob of the inner circle that was roughly in the four-o-clock position. Chang only smiled to himself. "Yes, definitely it!"

"Professor!" exclaimed Cannes. "You should really stop this, now!"

"Relax. I've figured it out now. I promise."

Dr. Volkov turned worriedly towards Cannes and Evans. "Persistent bastard, isn't he? Look, if he pushes a wrong button again, chances are we might not make it out of here alive."

"I know what you mean. If he pushes the wrong button those things will activate again, we won't survive the next wave. We have to stop him but he won't listen to reason."

"Then maybe," said Evans, raising her revolver, "he'll listen _this._"

Chang was too absorbed into his work to be bothered by anything else. One more, he knew. One more button to push and he would have solved the puzzle. But which one? The pattern was already clear as the hands in front of him. A simple riddle of symbols. He figured it out easily. No big deal for someone with his intellect. He knew exactly which button to press. He was so sure he was willing to bet his life on it. He literally was. His hand slowly reached for the last button he chose to be the right one. His hand hovered merely inches from the ancient symbol.

_Click_

He looked to his side and found Evans holding her revolver to his temple. "Pull back your hand professor," she ordered.

"This is it, I know it," replied Chang.

"Not to criticize you Professor, but I will not take that risk for the rest of the men here."

"You have to trust me."

"Pull your hand back, Professor."

"I've figured it out."

"Pull it back!"

The professor then pushed the button. Evans was so shocked at this that she forgot to pull the trigger of her revolver entirely. The same loud mechanical banging sound went off just like before. Evans and Chang stood side by side as they both watched the outer ring spin to the last unlit knob of the inner ring. Same thing happened as before and now all of the knobs were lit. A few seconds of tension passed were them men mostly expected the statues to come to life again and attack them. They didn't. Evans didn't know whether she should've been relieved or worried. More seconds of silence passed.

Then, they felt it. It started softly enough, but as the moments passed the rumbling got stronger. The rumbling sound became loud enough for the men to determine the origin: The giant symbol in the middle of the chamber. Everyone turned their attention to that. Some of the men even aimed their rifles out of caution and nervousness.

The symbol in the middle of the room started glowing brightly, so much so that it overpowered the green light from the glow sticks put down earlier and filled the chamber with a blinding whit light. All of those present couldn't see through the blinding light. A few seconds late, the rumbling settled down and completely subsided. The light also dimmed and soon disappeared. The green glow of the sticks that littered the ground returned.

By now the men have started realizing this and steadily tried to regain their sights, blinking many times to clear the haziness from their eyes. Cannes was the first to regain his sight. Volkov followed soon after.

"What happened?" asked Cannes.

"I don't know," replied Volkov, "but I seem to be alright. Looking around, I think everyone's fine. I guess we got lucky that tim--"

Volkov cut himself short when he saw something he wasn't expecting to see. He simply stood on his spot with his jaw agape. Cannes raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Anything wrong, man?"

Volkov didn't reply. He simply rushed past his friend and headed for the center of the chamber. Cannes sight followed Volkov for a while before his eye caught what his friend must have seen a second earlier. He too was rendered speechless and soon started to move towards the center of the chamber. Both men arrived at the center where something was very different. The symbol, along with a large circular piece of the floor, was nowhere to be found. All that was left was a relatively shallow pit of about twenty feet in depth. All the men, including Chang and Evans, have gathered around the pit by then and were staring down at it curiously. It was too dark to see anything.

"Sticks," requested Evans.

One of the men next to her reached into his pockets and pulled out three more glow sticks and handed it to her. She cracked them and tossed it inside the pit to light it up. They hit something as the fell. Something in the middle. Something big and round. Something none of them could identify.

"What is that?" asked Cannes.

Chang smiled. "It might be…our call to power."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present Day. At the same pit.

Robin, Kole and Gnarrk stood over the pit while Starfire hovered inside the pit itself while she lit up the interior by shining a light green light with her Tamaranean energy concentrated in her hands. The pit itself was almost featureless. The walls of the pit were nothing but smooth stone in a perfect circular diameter. Most of the bottom was the same as the walls except for the canter of the floor. In the center there looked to be some kind of stone base for something to put on that was now missing. The Titans had a few guesses at what that something was.

"This has to be where _it_ was placed," declared Kole. Next to her, Gnarrk grunted in agreement.

"Agreed," said Robin. "Now we simply have to figure out exactly what it is."

Starfire hovered up back to the other's level. "How do we do that, Robin?"

"First we look around this place. Maybe we can find some clues here but since these ruins are from a civilization that I've never seen before, I don't know if we're gonna get much out of this place. And archeology was never really my thing."

"Yeah," agreed Kole, "kinda a drag, huh?"

"Perhaps we should find an expert in the archeology," suggested Starfire. "Perhaps we should have Beast Boy contact our friend, Sara Hunter."

"I'll keep that I mind Star," said Robin, "But the truth is our biggest chance of ever finding out what this place is or what the thing inside the pit was is from Professor Chang. He must know more about this place and the secrets it hold than we could ever figure out."

"Yes, you are correct. But still we must try our best as well."

"Then let's get started already!" exclaimed Kole with Gnarrk backing her up.

"Okay, everyone spread out and search for anything." Robin reached into his utility belt and produced tw flashlights, one for himself and another for Kole. "Report back here later."

They all nodded and started going their separate ways inadvertently dividing the room into thirds, one for Starfire, one for Kole and Gnarrk, and one for Robin. By coincidence, Robin got the third that faced south, towards the altar.

At first glance he already had a lot to look at. There seemed to be some kind of toppled statue directly in front of him as he faced south. The statue's limbs were broken off and scattered in the nearby area which definitely indicated that the statue somehow fell on its back and shattered. That wasn't what interested Robin the most though. He found it interesting, and somewhat alarming, that the statue's body was pelted in what he could never mistake to be bullet holes. He climbed up onto the fallen torso and knelt down to get a really good look. No doubt about it. Bullet holes.

He walked across the torso and checked out the extent of the damage. As he looked around, the beam from his light caught something on the ground that shimmered slightly. He dropped down off the torso and walked towards it. Following the light from his flashlight, Robin reached the object on the ground which turned out to be a small metal cylinder. Robin had already guessed what it was before he picked it up. He held the object against the light and confirmed his suspicions.

A bullet casing. Specifically, it was a 7.62 mm casing. He knew this particular type of round very well. He practically spent half his childhood dodging it on a nightly basis. The 7.62 mm round was about the most popular and abundant type of rifle ammunition in the world of firearms and is the standard of over two-thirds of the world's armies. Its most popular host would be the AK series of rifles.

Robin wondered why anyone would need it in an ancient ruin like this. Then he turned around and looked at the statue again, the one pelted with bullet holes. No matter how he looked at it, it only made less sense as he tried harder to figure it out. Robin decided to keep looking for more stuff to look at. If there was some kind of firefight that happened down here he would figure it out eventually. He had enough skills as a detective to do just that. Still the purpose, the motive, those things will elude him until he gets someone to actually tell him the story. There was hardly a set of choices in that matter. None of them knew who could have been the people who were there before them or what their true objective was, or that if any of those people were still alive today. He knew all their hope in figuring out the story was from the old man they were hunting at that moment. And thus Robin knew that he had to do one of the things he really couldn't stand to do.

He had to sit and wait

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Nine years ago.

The boy walked out of the door and into the afternoon sun that lit up a quaint little garden at the back of some church. Gone were his ragged cloths consisting of his shirt and trousers. Now he wore an ensemble of black shirt, pants and boots. The shirt and pants were decorated with silver accents on the trims that the boy found more or less to his taste though he knew this wasn't his first choice of design. But he really had no choice. The clothes were handed to him and he was too polite to refuse. That and he also hated his old clothes.

He saw the old woman still sitting on the stone bench in the grass at the side of a short stone path on the ground that led through the garden. The boy moved towards her while still stretching out and moving his limbs to get his new attire broken in to a comfortable fit.

He reminisced briefly on how he got there. It was about two days since their fateful meeting at St. Mark's Square. Two days ago he was simply a poor vagrant on the streets of Venice living one day at a time on luck. Now he was somewhere in Rome, a city he thought he would never see. True, it was close enough to Italy, but thoughts of traveling never really interested him. He was in a church somewhere. He didn't specifically which, Rome had its fair share of churches and he has spent most of his days knowing only St. Mark's Basilica. If nothing else, the boy actually considered himself more or less a catholic, though he was never really that religious. He knew his parents were catholic at least, with his few memories of them, he even remembered his mother kneeling in front of a small altar in their house, clutching a rosary in both hands, crying her eyes out and asking God why it had to be her burden and not someone else's. During his early orphan years, he spent a lot of time in front of St. Mark's Basilica, listening to the church services and sometimes even sitting in a mass every now and then. He learned to respect the faith. Though never really took it to heart, he kept the faith anyway. At least with it, he had something to keep him going: a belief in something you can't see. He knew enough about things you _can't see_, that's for sure.

The old woman seemed to have been well known around the place. The moment she walked in she was practically treated like royalty though she kept her graciousness the whole time. Being in her personal company, the boy found himself getting more care and attention than he could ever ask for. While he wanted to graciously say no to the hospitality, he really couldn't say no to a warm bath, a hot dinner, a fresh change of clothes, and a room with a warm bed. Plus, the nuns who filled the place were young and cute.

"You look nice in those new clothes," said the old woman.

The boy snapped back to reality. "Yeah. It fits me quite nicely and its pretty comfortable. Like it was made for me. I'm not too keen about the design though. Is this supposed to be some kind of uniform?"

"Well, yes and no. It was made as a prototype uniform but it was rejected along with other designs."

"So…what I have is some rejected hand-me-downs?"

"Pretty much."

The boy let out an exasperated sigh. "Appreciate the thought anyway."

"You're welcome."

"So…what am I doing here again?"

"This will be your new home for a while. Or at least as long as you want it to be. As per our agreement, you will see for yourself if this is the path you truly desire and walk it if you want to."

"So, you really aren't gonna stop me if I try to leave? That's of course if I don't like the place or what this whole thing is all about."

"We both know no one could stop you even if they tried."

"That's true. Still, how do I get started? I still don't know what I'm doing here."

"We'll take this one step at a time. I suppose we need to know more about you and your talents. We need to know the extent of your control over your powers. That will be key since your control will determine your effectiveness as a part of this team we're building."

"Don't worry about the control thing. I pretty much got it down. Years on the streets has offered me plenty of practice."

The old woman said nothing. She simply looked up at the boy, almost nostalgically. She wore a soft smile on her face as she slowly started to look away and instead simply looked up into the hazy orange afternoon sky. The boy was confused for a moment.

"Hey," he called out, "is something wrong? Was it something I said?"

The old woman sighed. "You remind me of an old student of mine. She had great potential and a kind heart."

"Oh…Where is she now? Is she here somewhere?"

"No, she is nowhere near here."

"What happened to her then?"

"Let's just say, like you, she found another path to walk. I can only hope she has strength to walk whatever path she chose. Her power is great, but I fear that her heart is still fragile and needs to find its own strength. Still, I trust her. She will do the right thing and maybe one day out pats may cross again. Who knows? You, my boy, would've gotten along well with her."

"I see. Well, maybe I can find her for you someday."

"Perhaps…But let us focus on the present. Oh! I almost forgot. I never really got your name."

"It's…Christopher."

"I see. Did your parents give it to you?"

"No, my parents never really gave me a name. It was given to me by that priest who tried to get me into his orphanage at that time four years ago. He told me the name meant "Christ's bearer" or something like that. He said the Lord had to be watching over me if I was _that_ lucky to survive as I was. I guess that's one more thing I forgot to thank him for."

"Well, you might have the opportunity to thank him sooner than you think."

Christopher gave the old woman a curious look.

"Well never mind about that now," she continued. "Come, I'll have some of the girls here show you around."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day, STAR Labs Toronto.

By now, police presence around the Labs has reduced. Any arrests that were supposed to be made have been made and the police were more or less playing the security role now, watching over things as the place tried to get back at its bearings. STAR Labs and its workers were already hard at work cleaning the place up. With the organization's long history of break-ins and robberies, the STAR Labs handbook had several chapters on "How to deal with the mess after a break-in" procedures.

Three of the Teen Titans plus Watcher were gathered near the T-car and were discussing their finds. After correctly identifying what was stolen from the Labs, the decided to try and figure out what those things would do on their own or when combined. Sadly though, Cyborg, being the most technical member of the team and therefore the most likely to have the answer, was completely stumped. He said that the stuff that was stolen from the labs were pretty useless on their own and were in no way able to combine with each other.

Watcher threw in his two cents and provided his own theory. He stated, that maybe the parts that were stolen were actually spare parts in a manner of speaking. He theorized that Chang must've already had whatever gizmo he ad running all this time and then suddenly broke down. He must've needed replacement parts to get is operation up and running again. The theory made sense and seemed likely. Watcher felt a little proud of himself until he felt Raven's suspicious eyes fall on him. He guessed that she probably thought that he thought of that theory a little too quickly. He needed to fix that.

"You wondering how I came up with that theory?"

"Yes, I am," replied Raven.

Watcher let out an exasperating sigh. "Two things. First, as Cyborg already stated, the stuff that was stolen is pretty much useless as they were which lead me to believe that they were taken to be part of something bigger than them. Secondly, the timing. The timing of this robbery strikes me as an impromptu method of filling a need. I Chang really needed these parts any time earlier he would have tried to steal them long ago. That's it. Are you gonna question everything that comes out of my mouth?"

Cyborg and Beast boy answered his question. "Yes, she will," they said with more than a hint of their own exasperation. Raven turned and glared at them to which the two ignored for the most part.

"You'll get used to it, buddy," reassured Beast Boy.

"I'm sure I will."

"You're gonna have to give her some slack when it comes to stuff like this. If you knew her like we do, dude, you'll know that she's had all theses trust issues for a loooong time now. But, over the years you develop this technique in dealing with Raven. It's an art really which I have somehow mastered over the years. Iswear, I could write a book about it."

"Are you guys talking about me?" inquired Raven. She was totally ignored as the boys were absorbed in their conversation about her.

"So, you got any tips for me then?" asked Watcher, "I really want to get along with you guys, you see. Honest."

"You could always try Starfire's approach," continued Beast Boy, "of being all curtsey around her. Raven may be all dark and all gothic most of the time but somewhere deep down, I think she is still a little girly."

Watcher giggled a bit at that. "Really? That sounds interesting."

"But that doesn't seem your type. Personally, I just do my best to be as bluntly honest with her as I can. It seems to work for me."

"Isn't that also why she sometimes gives you atomic wedgies with her telekinesis?"

"Umm…Yeah, but once you get used to that, it can turn out to be an almost Zen-like experience."

"…I'll just take your word for it, Beast Boy."

"Ummm, Hello?" called out Raven. "I'm right here! Stop talking about me like I can't hear it!"

Again, Raven was completely ignored. It annoyed her more when Cyborg entered the conversation. "BB, you're totally over-analyzing this thing. I deal with Rae just fine don't I?"

"So How do you do it then?" inquired Watcher.

"Personally, I see Raven's attitude towards new people to be attributed to the fact that while growing up, most of her peers inadvertently alienated her. Sad, but not really all that bad. Raven just likes to exaggerate it a bit. She'd never admit this but she's really kinda a drama queen. I mean, you could probably relate to that whole alienation thing, can't you, man?"

"I guess you can say that."

"So don't worry if she doesn't take to you so quickly. Heck, she has trouble dealing with the mailman."

"You guys get a mailman at the tower?"

"Well, not anymore actually."

"Thanks to Rae, at least," said Beast Boy. "Ever had a role of fan-mail jammed up your hind-quarters telekinetically? I haven't but I'm pretty sure it ain't pleasant dude."

"Ouch." commented Watcher while making a mock cringing action.

Finally, Raven lost it. "Will you guys just CUT IT OUT!"

Raven loomed over them all bearing her teeth. Watcher could've sworn that she had four glowing red eyes at that point. The two Titans simply held their hands out in surrender and grinned in apology which seemed to somehow quell Raven of her anger. She stopped looming over them but she still fumed a bit. A drop of sweat dropped down the back of watcher's head.

At that moment, a ringing came from watcher's jacket. This drew the attention of the three Titans in his company. Watcher reached in and took out his PDA, which was receiving a call. He looked towards the Titans to see their expressions were one of curiosity.

"What is it, dawg?" asked Cyborg.

"Hopefully, good news," replied Watcher before turning away slightly so that his side was facing them then he took the call.

"Yeah?...Uh-huh…So where?...You're kidding. Really?...No, your timing couldn't be better. I knew you'd pull this through…Right, anyway, talk to you later then."

Watcher hang up on his call. He knew the Titans were watching him the whole time. He faced them with a somewhat successful smile on his face. This called on the curiousity of the titans more.

"Well," said Beast Boy, "What was it?"

Watcher continued grinning. "Good news…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Authors note: Sorry if this was a bit late. I was sick for a couple of days and was in no mood to do any work. But I'm cool now so I'll try to make up for the lost time.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own you know who.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

A long time ago.

Deep in the bowels of an underground volcanic system hidden in the heart of Jump City, Terra slowly floated down on a small rock to a another pillar of rock. Her "apprentice" suit was now in shreds and left most of her skin exposed to the geothermal heat that was emanating from the walls around her that she was barely able to stand but did well enough to ignore. She reached the small piece of solid rock where she assumed her would-be master had fallen onto but saw no sign of him. Terra scanned the surrounding area immediately around her.

Without any warning whatsoever, Slade's fist launches at her face with a vengeance. Terra was floored instantly, having no room to react to the sudden attack. Slade moved up to her and grabbed her metal breast plate to hoist her back up. Her bobbed loosely on her neck joint, a sure sign of unconsciousness. Slade contemplated on the number of ways he could punish her for stabbing him in the back and suddenly returning to the Titan's side. But before he could come up with anything, the girl of rock came to, eyes glowing brightly with a golden hue.

"You can't control me anymore!" she exclaimed to his face.

Her power overwhelmed the both of them in a bright golden explosion that blinded the Titans who were all watching from a distance. When the bright flash subsided, and the Titans regained their vision, they were surprised to see Terra alone amidst a pile of ruble. The masked villain known as Slade was nowhere to be found.

The Titans were just getting a handle on the situation when suddenly a very noticeable tremble began to resonate throughout the cave they were in. It felt like a bad omen to them all. Eventually, a plum of molten rock exploded out of the wall somewhere behind the Titans. More and more magma started gushing out of newly opening pours on the rock. Things looked excessively grim at that point.

"Terra's power!" exclaimed Robin, "It's triggered a volcano!"

Cyborg flipped open a panel on his arm and looked at the data which only filled him with fright. "Big enough to take out the whole city! And way too big to stop!"

"We have to get out of here!" exclaimed Raven.

As the molten liquid rock around them steadily rose, Robin did the obvious choice and gave the signal for all to retreat. All but Beast Boy followed. The changeling turned around and called to his friend. "Terra! Come on! We gotta go!"

Terra floated down to him on a piece of rock, with a resolute look on her face. "I have to stay."

"No!"

**"** I'm the only one who can stop it."

**"** Please, Terra, you can't! It's too late!"

She brushed her hair aside to reveal both eyes to him. She smiled. "It's never too late." She hugged him. "You were the best friend I ever had."

Tears filled her eyes for a moment as she let Beast Boy slowly back away from her and she herself float away on another rock. She watched as Beast Boy was pulled away by his teammates and all five of them ran to safety. They will make it. She knew that much. She turned around and positioned herself in the center of the large volcanic chamber. She readied herself for what she knew would be her final action.

They say when you know you're on the brink of your end, your whole life flashes before your eyes. Terra's life flashed by her in an instant. She remembered everything so clearly, all the way up to that point. And in her final moment, she thought of what would become of her after she was gone. She supposed she would be branded a traitor, a heartless villain without redemption, not worthy of ever carrying the title of Teen Titan. She supposed that was most likely. Her name might even become a metaphor for treason for all she knew. On top of that here she would die alone. She would end her existence without friends, without family, without anyone by her side. Completely and utterly alone.

It was a lousy way to go, she knew that. But, at least, it was by her choice. For once, in all her miserable life, she made a choice for herself. She couldn't ask for anything more.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day, Marmot Island, Alaska.

Silicis climbed towards the nearest peak she could find. It was only a short walk from the spot on the cliffs where she initially spotted her target, the underground facility that housed what ever Chang was up to. It was exactly where she dug it up to be, though she wasn't sure what it was supposed to be. According to her research, the structure was supposed to be some kind of bunker, left over from the end of the last Great War and was initially built by the Canadian and British military as an R&D facility into new weapons. The facility had apparently seen some service but the war ended too quickly for the place to maximize its potential.

Regardless of its origins, the bunker was under the control of Professor Chang and his crew now and thus was something that needed to be cleansed. For the world's sake if nothing else.

Even though she wanted to, and to some degree, was capable of doing so, she resisted the urge to drop in herself and assault the bunker on her own. But she knew better than that. To do such a thing would mean that she was underestimating her enemy, and also, she was overestimating herself. That was a mistake that Silicis promised herself she would never do. She knows her lesson, even though she herself didn't learn it personally but instead they were lesson learned by her _former_ at a price that was too high.

She tried to think of a better term to refer to _her_ other than her former. That term made her think that they were the same person even though they weren't. She wanted to believe this more than anything but somehow a part of her still kept comparing herself to the other. She learned to simply push those thoughts away with all the justifications that she was completely different from her. She was different, even in areas where she thought they were supposed to be the same.

She was supposed to be _her_ exact genetic clone, but she found out from some documents recovered from the site of the wrecked GeoHammer, one of Chang's previous failed projects that Silicis was all too familiar with, that even her genes were only very slightly altered from the original host's DNA. She found out that Chang made it so that her terrakinetic powers were slightly more enhanced. This was done so to make it easier to extract her powers which were crucial to the GeoHammer project.

The other result was that when she gained consciousness (which was never supposed to happen in the first place) her powers were more attuned with her will and were easier to control. Her powers were also more precise and accurate.

Yet, even though she seemed convince that she was a completely different person, she still kept looking back, still kept thinking that she and her original mold, in a manner of speaking, were not that different. Maybe it was when she looked in the mirror Silicis would still see _her_ face looking back. And with that face, came the fear. The fear of loosing control. The fear of loosing friends and family. The fear of being alone.

She forced those thoughts out of her head. Those kinds of thoughts were not healthy. She had to remind herself again. She was not _her_

She was not _Terra_.

She was beginning to understand Watcher's worry of her. He was, at the moment, her best friend. After moving out of Steel City, he was the first person other than her Master with whom she was able to relate to when she became the third member of team November. Even though she was the third to be initiated, she became second in command almost immediately, second to Watcher who was the team's official captain. This was a decision that no one, except maybe herself, objected to. Still, she performed up to expectations and beyond. The other two members were both younger than her or Watcher and did not have that much practical experience as they did, which in Silicis' case was simply "inherited."

Sometimes, Silicis lamented on doing what she was doing now. The other two members of November were still in training by the True Master and Silicis was requested to help in that. She could've helped and it would've been very beneficial for the two young members but instead she chose to divulge herself in this mission, a mission that both Watcher and her master were reluctant in involving her with. She did it anyway, reasoning out that it was simply because she had to do it.

But did she really? What was she trying to achieve for herself? A sense of identity maybe? Was she trying to somehow solidify her place and purpose by trying to confront the man that created her in the first place? Silicis couldn't answer any of those questions which were now leading her to question why she was here in the first place. But there was nothing she could do anymore to change things. The wheels of fate have already turned too much for her or anybody else to turn them back. She had to finish what she started.

Eventually, she reached the nearest peak, the highest point she could find within a reasonable distance. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a PDA similar to that of Watcher. She dialed his number, making sure to activate the encryption program so the conversation cannot be picked up by anyone else, and the call was picked up after a few rings.

"Yeah?" came Watcher's voice from the other line.

"I found them," answered Silicis.

"Uh-huh." Watcher sounded somewhat excited

"We can stop the searching. We have a definite location now. I'm standing no more than a quarter of a mile from it, actually."

"So where?"

"I'll send you the exact coordinates in a moment. But if you really need to know, I'm in Alaska right now. Didn't expect that, did you?"

"You're kidding. Really?"

"We can end this now. But you already said we're gonna need help here. With the current situation, we might have to wait for our help to coordinate with our efforts. Did I call you on this too early?"

"No, your timing couldn't be better. I knew you'd pull this through."

Silicis wryly smiled to herself slightly. "Like you could ever doubt me? So, anyway, we're good to go, right. I'll old off here and wait for you to make your move. As agreed, we go by your say on this one, so I'll just kick back for a while."

"Right, anyway, talk to you later then."

"See ya."

With that, she hung up. She switched programs and used her GPS function to send the coordinates of her location to her teammate. Her job was done for the moment. She was once again left with her thoughts. She thought better of it and decided to take a walk instead. She didn't need anymore of those debatable notions for the meantime. She decided to go back to where she spotted the bunker and kept monitoring.

The final assault will come soon. She had to be ready for it, in more than once sense of the notion.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Four years ago.

Around her, all she could see was yellow. The floor was yellow, the tall, hexagonal pillars that surrounded her and were spread across the floor were yellow and so were the walls and ceiling. The things that weren't yellow: her current suit, which was a mainly a black jumpsuit with the recognizable HIVE logo printed in yellow on the right breast of the suit. Also not yellow was her weapon, a simple, straight wooden stick, painted in black.

She searched around, turning her head slowly from side to side keeping a sharp eye on things, all the while keeping a steady and cautious stride around floor. She also kept a sharp ear out, trying to listen for any audio cues that would reveal the location of her opponent. But her opponent didn't make a sound, which made her a bit nervous. Her opponent was more adept to close combat that herself and she was also, apparently, very good at sneaking around. Still she though that it couldn't have been that hard to spot a girl with pink hair couldn't i—

"Yaaargh!"

The yell came from less than ten feet behind her. The silver-haired girl did not bother looking back and simply went with her gut instinct and dove to the side. She may have not been that adept to fighting, but she was adept enough at evasive maneuvers. The silver haired girl only managed to evade a downward strike that would've smacked her in the head. Instead, her opponent's weapon, which was exactly similar to her own, hit the hard floor instead.

She quickly got back up and faced her opponent who had already recovered from her failed strike and readied herself. Her opponent was another girl who looked to be younger than her self, dressed in the same manner as her along wit the same weapon. She had unusually pale skin and even more unusual pink hair, arranged in two pointed peaks which the silver-haired girl found tacky, and at the same time, strangely appealing in its own way.

She ignored it and charged at her pink-haired opponent with a flurry of wide swings and yells to accompany them. This was more of an act of instinct as her opponent knew better than to simply charge in. The pink haired girl simply kept the defensive by blocking a parrying all of the blows with relative ease.

Her opponent found the opportune moment when the silver haired girl raised her stick up high. As the silver-haired girl's weapon came down her opponent quickly raised her own stick to stop the strike mere inches above her pink head. The silver haired girl was caught off-guard even more when her opponent suddenly fell backwards making her fall forward in turn from the lack of balance, while simultaneously planting a foot on her ribs. Rolling backwards completely, the pink haired girl catapulted the silver-haired girl towards a pillar behind her.

She did a one-eighty flip on the way to the pillar and hit it upside-down. This knocked some of the wind out of her. She fell back onto the floor in a heap and needed a second or two to recover. That was enough time for her opponent to get back on her feet and stand ready to make another charge. The pink-haired girl dashed towards the downed silver haired girl and swung down.

But by then, the silver haired girl was already back in focus and once again and was able to display her evasive skills. The silver haired girl quickly rolled to the side and her opponent's weapon hit the pillar instead. The impact of the stick to the stick on the pillar, aside from simply making a loud bang, sent a jolt through the pink haired girl's body which momentarily distracted her. This gave the silver-haired girl a chance to retaliate with a sweeping kick that tripped her opponent onto her back.

The silver haired girl capitalized on this moment and got up to strike down on her opponent. Wood met wood once again as her opponent was quick enough to recover so that she was able to block the incoming strike. For a moment, the tow combatants pushed against one another in a bid to get the upper hand in the battle. That was when the pink-haired girl went on the offensive, if a little dirty. The pink haired girl shot a knee up at her opponent's stomach which weakened her enough that the combatant that was on the floor managed to push her off.

Instantly, the tables were turned. The silver-haired girl fell on her back and was now on the floor. The pink-haired girl was on her feet in moments and swung down her stick at the downed girl's head, who somehow managed to block it as her opponent did not too long ago. It was back to the pushing gamed where each of the combatants pushed against each other for dominance.

This lasted only a few seconds though. It ended when the silver-haired girl suddenly shot her head up and head-butted her opponent. The blow caused slight disorientation for both of them but nonetheless allowed the downed girl to push her opponent off to one side then quickly roll to the opposite side.

When the two fighters were standing up again they held their weapons ready as before, ready to charge at a moment's notice. The girl with the pink hair was about to charge again when a loud voice interrupted them both.

"That's enough you two," said an aged female voice.

Both girls stood at ease. The pillars around them started to slowly sink to the floor until there were none left but bare, yellow floor and walls. On one of the side's of the walls, a large, hexagonal-shaped video screen appeared with the image of well aged lady wearing an official looking uniform and had her gray hair tied in a neat little bun.

"That was a good sparring session," continued the lady.

The two girls bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Headmistress," they said together.

"You both show good promise in combat but I'm saying you were perfect. Both of you will need improvement in certain areas. But don't worry. You'll have plenty of opportunities to improve yourselves. You're free for the day now. Make sure to show up for the orientation tomorrow where you'll meet some of your new…schoolmates. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Headmistress," answered both girls.

"Good. Carry on."

The video screen went blank. The tow girls turned to look at each other. For a while nothing happened and eventually they each formed a mutual smirk.

"You're pretty good, you know?" said the pink haired girl.

"Not as good as you, apparently," replied the silver haired girl. "I was never much into fighting up close. Guess I also had a spot of bad luck."

"Bad luck, huh? You know, you might have gotten that from me."

"Really?"

"That's why they call me Jinx."

"You know that the spar was supposed to be "no powers", am I right?"

"Oh, of course I didn't use any of my powers. Believe me you would've noticed if I did. My powers are not exactly, discreet. But I'm still kinda bad luck. Seems to come natural to me. Can't really help it."

"I see."

"Well, what's your name, by the way?"

"My name? Um…It is…uh…"

"I'm asking for your alias, not your real name."

"I know that."

"So what is your alias then?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it yet."

"Really? It's not that hard, you know."

"Is that so? Then how do you go about it?"

"Well, take a look at me. I'm Jinx, a cute little bundle of misfortune. Can't get a more obvious connection than that, girl. If you're gonna pick a name for yourself, it sounds best if it fits you. It's gotta match up with what you can do. Kinda like a one-word profile really. Well, tow or three words for some people."

The silver haired girl looked inquiringly towards her companion, Jinx. The girl let the words sink in a bit and turned away from Jinx and held her chin in deep thought. "Match up with what I can do, huh?"

"Need to think about it? Well let me know when you come up with something. I think I'm gonna head for the showers now. See ya."

Jinx started walking away, leaving the silver haired girl still deep in thought. She stayed there for a while and Jinx was almost at the door when she spoke once again.

"Fallacy," she blurted out suddenly, prompting Jinx to stop and turn around to face her.

"Say what?" inquired the pink haired girl.

"I've decided. My name is _Fallacy._"

"Fallacy, ey? Sounds catchy. But how does that fit in with your abilities?"

Fallacy simply looked at her new schoolmate and smirked wryly. Her eyes started to slightly glow. "Well…let me show you…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Present day, STAR Labs Toronto.

"Alaska?" inquired Beast Boy.

"That's what she said," replied Watcher. "Specifically, Marmot Island, a small island a little ways north of Kodiak and in the west side of Alaskan gulf."

Watcher was looking down on his PDA which was displaying a detailed map of the island. On the display was a small blinking marker that he supposed was to location of Silicis at the time. It really seemed she had found their target. Now things were progressing. He and the Titans could get there in probably ten to twelve hours. From what he was told about their companions, Robin and Starfire, they were at least a few hours flight with their T-ship. Time was of the essence now, they couldn't afford any less.

"What do you guys think we should do?" asked Watcher.

"I say we just go and plow down on that old man's doors right now!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"BB, when will you learn not to rush things?" retorted Cyborg.

"Dude, I think that rushing in is the best strategy right now. I mean c'mon, it's not like we can't take him on. I mean this guy is ancient. How hard can t be?"

"I agree with him on this," said Watcher.

"You do?" asked Raven. "Charging in recklessly sounds dangerous to me. As Titans, we have had some pretty close calls before from this kind of strategy."

"I'm sure about that. Believe me I've had my own nasty experiences and direct attacks are not exactly my forte either."

"So you understand my position. then why are you voting for it?"

"My biggest worry about this whole situation is time. That's what's been keeping me anxious this whole while. None of us here know how far Chang has progressed with his plans and frankly that aggravates me. If at all possible, I would really like to resolve this in the fastest method available to us. A direct assault would be the last thing I'd do on normal circumstances but right now I honestly think that's the most viable option. But it's not like I haven't done the math. With out capabilities, it's pretty probable that we can take on whatever Chamng can dish out."

Raven didn't answer immediately. There was a long pause where no one spoke and they were all trying to sink in what watcher said. She thought deeply about all that Watcher said and, to her slight annoyance, the boy had a point. "…You're right."

"I know you guys might have some trouble trusting what I say but the thing is we all have an equal stake in this thing and we have to…wait, did you just agree with me?"

"You're right. Attacking directly is probably our best option. I also want to finish this as quickly as possible."

"Well, I didn't see that coming."

"Guess that proves miracles do happen, huh?" joked Beast Boy, earning the usual scowl from Raven.

"You guys maybe right about this," said Cyborg, "But I still want to hear Robin's say on this."

"Agreed," said Raven.

"Think he's to busy to take a call?" inquired Beast Boy.

As if on cue the two communicators of Beast Boy and Raven plus the one built into Cyborg's arm all beeped to life.

"Wonder of wonders," commented Cyborg, "That's got to be him now."

They all answered their communicators and sure enough, Robin was on the other line. "Good to see you guys," he said.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere north of Greenland.

Robin, Starfire, Kole and Gnarrk were gathered in front of the cave entrance they used to enter the 'ruins' some hours earlier where the T-ship was parked no more than a few dozen meters in front of the entrance. Their search seemed to have yielded very little when it came to useful information. However, there was a consensus among the four Titans there that with the evidence they did find, it meant big trouble for the world as long as whatever was dug up from that place remained in the hands of Professor Chang. Robin called on his team I hopes that they had made significant progress so that they could somehow push forward the whole operation in a productive direction. Lucky for all of them this was true as Robin found out.

"Rob," said Cyborg's voice. "We were actually just about to contact you. We've made some great headway on our end and so far we've been talking about how we could approach the situation. We were hoping in getting your say in this."

"That's good to hear. The sooner we can act the better."

"Great," said Beast Boy's voice, "I've been waiting for something interesting to happen. I mean, I've been Toronto for a few hours now and I still haven't seen any Mounties."

"Toronto? Wait, what are you guys doing in Canada?"

"Okay, quick summary of events, Rob. We got into contact with Watcher back in Jump, then he told us about Chang's men and the HIVE breaking in to STAR Labs here in Toronto not too long ago so we took the car and headed north. Turn's out Chang's men were out 'shopping' as it were and the HIVE are going for, according to our new amigo over here, payback. He promised to explain better later. Well, Chang's men and the HIVE are long gone by now so then we did some investigating to confirm all the stuff that went down. Then Watch got a call from a contact and we now know where Chang is, by the way. So we're just hanging around talking about what should go down next. Me, Rae and the new guy wants to go all out assault. Cy's getting some second thoughts and we were just about to call you on that. So what do you think?"

Robin was a little speechless trying to absorb all that. Starfire walked in on the conversation at that point "Wow, it is amazing what could happen in short time."

"Yeah, Star," said Kole, "but we really ought to be used to this kind of things by now, being Titans and all."

"You are right, friend."

Robin decided to speak up once again. "Anyway, let me get some key points straight. We have Chang's location now."

"Yup," replied Cyborg. "Watcher says that he sources point to a small isle in the Alaskan gulf. He swears by the location."

"And, from what Beast Boy just said, we know the HIVE's motive?"

"Watcher says that they're trying to get back at Chang for…uh…rubbing off Brother Blood during their last encounter."

"Oh, I se—wait…Blood is dead?"

"He says he'll explain later."

"Okay. What were you guys discussing just now?"

"Like BB said, we're talking whether we should launch a direct assault on Chang's place since we already know where it is. These guys seem to think it's a good idea. I'm not really against it but I think we should be a little more careful with this."

"…Can I hear what the others say?"

The view switched over to Raven. "Watcher raised a pretty good point when he said that we have time to consider. We don't know how far Chang has gone with his plans. Because of this, we both think that we need a plan that will give us victory in the least amount of time as possible."

Robin took a moment to think about this then turned away from his communicator and towards the three other Titans behind him. "What do you guys think?"

They all looked at each other inquiringly for a bit before Starfire spoke. "That course of action seems a little dangerous, no?"

"Well," said Kole, "do we have a plan B or something?"

"We could explore other options. But that would consume more of our time, would it not?"

"Time we might not have."

Robin turned his head down. He thought about everything that was just said. He thought of the factors, both in and out of favor for them. They know the exact location of their enemy now. Attack is possible. But he of all people knew that they had more than one option to take, there was always more options. Problem is, like Starfire said, exploring options costs time. Raven, Beast Boy and Watcher seem to think that a direct assault on the place is their best bet. And the truth is so did Robin.

"We might just have to go with the direct approach on this one," said Robin which called in everyone's attention.

"You sure about that, dawg?" inquired Cyborg.

"I've thought about it. Watcher was right, it is our best option."

"Why do you think that?"

"Watcher's point that we need to finish this as quickly as possible was right. Starfire's point that searching for other options will cost us time we don't have. Attacking head-on might sound dangerous but it's actually the option with the most advantages for us. Consider that Chang doesn't know we're looking for him, let alone know exactly where he is. Plus we outgun him. I doubt he can throw anything at us we can't handle. Also, Kole and Gnarrk have already agreed to help us in this mission. I'm sure Watcher has the same sentiments and we already know that he's talented enough."

"Good point, man. So I guess that settles it then?"

"Unless anybody has any objections."

Robin looked around. Starfire, Kole and Gnarrk seemed to approve of the plan. He then asked the rest of the team on the other line and found no objections there either. The plan was set. All that was left was to go ahead with it.

"Alright. Let's get moving. Send me the location of Chang's place and we'll set up a rendezvous point somewhere where we can meet. We'll discuss more of the plan as we go along. We don't have any other choice than that. Got that, guys?"

Everyone gave their respective sounds of confirmation. They were all ready and willing to go.

"Then let's move out."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Back in Toronto.

"Oh, and on last thing," said Robin on the communicator. "I'd like to get a private word with Watcher."

The three Titans pause for a moment before Raven handed over her communicator to Watcher who took it politely. The three Titans then retreated to the T-car. In a few moments they will leave for their next destination. Whatever Robin has to say to the new teen on the case, he'd do it quickly enough.

"Yes," asked Watcher towards Robin's image on the communicator.

"Well, let me just start off by telling you that you have no idea how much I personally appreciate your help. I mean that with all honesty. I don't know about the rest of the team's personal feelings but I'm sure they appreciate your help in this case as well."

"Don't mention it. I'm just doing my job, you know that."

"I'm sorry if you've been having a hard time with some of the team. I imagine Raven was particularly hard on you."

"You don't need to worry about that. I think we're finally reaching an agreement. But either way, I cope just fine. It's not like I haven't been through this kind of thing before."

"I would expect so. Still I'd like to apologize anyway. And to let you know that I have full confidence in you on helping us today."

"Right back at ya'. What do you say we finish this and save the world?"

"I'm counting on it."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere hidden.

"I'm counting on it," said Robin's voice on a laptop belonging to Gizmo.

The boy genius in question turned back to the rest of his team standing right behind him. "See, what did I tell ya? Those snot-munching Titans are up to something. And it involves the old guy."

"There seems to be something big going on," said See-More. "Chang is in the middle of it all."

"Indeed," said Fallacy. "The old man is up to something again. Whatever it is, the Titans, and their new friend, are apparently at odds with it. Very intriguing, I must say."

"So…what about it?" asked Mammoth.

"What does it matter?" interjected Billy Numerous. "We're already after the old coot. Why do ya'll have to care what them Titans are after him fer'?"

"Duh!" retorted Gizmo. "Whatever's going on it's big enough that those crummy Titans have to fly all the way to Alaska for. Why just rub out the old man when we can take what he's got too?"

"I see where you are going with this," said Fallacy, grinning slightly. "Why not? Why just settle for piece when we can take the whole pie? We'll get our vengeance on the old man and at the same time gain more power than we have ever had. This could mean a whole new beginning for us."

"Yeah!" exclaimed See-More. "We can rebuild the HIVE!"

"And that's just for starters, my friends. I see the road ahead of us paved in gold…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Ah, finally got my first flame last chapter. Now I feel like a real writer. As for all the _positive_ reviewers: thank you as always. You're feedback is very well appreciated. As always, R&R. Till next time.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: No Titans here!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

In the depths of his hideout.

Professor Chang sat in his small office somewhere deep in the bunker. The office itself used to belong to the commander of the bunker when this place was active. When he found it there was nothing in it but an empty metal desk that the previous owner probably thought to be not worth salvaging. Chang thought it fit him just fine. He thought it was appropriate he sat where the guy in charge was supposed to sit in. He was the boss. The big boss. The guy no one messed around with.

The truth is Chang felt a little bit childish. But he didn't really care. He wanted to feel this way. He wanted to feel like a ten year old boy on his birthday. He had every right, every reason to feel this way. Things were all going according to plan this time. So far there was only one screw-up which was the interception of his henchmen at Toronto. But that was no longer a problem as far as Chang was concerned. The interlopers have been taken care of and there was no way for them to find him. There was nothing that can go wrong this time.

He reminisced at how long a road he had travelled to get to this moment. He started his career humbly enough, a small time teacher in some school in the suburbs teach basic science to grade school kids. He would tinker around in his spare time with gadgets and gizmo's he saved from the junkyard. He would attend some conventions and exhibits, visit a few seminars here and there. He expanded his knowledge as much as he could and it paid off soon enough.

He made his first invention and patented it over forty years ago. He remembered it was some kind of electric shaver or something. It wasn't much but it was a start. A company bought it and he lived off some nice royalties for a while before it went out of production. But it didn't matter, he invented other stuff.

It wasn't long until his talents for applied sciences were noticed. He was approached by many companies that wanted him to wok for them full time as an inventor and designer. He rejected them all except for one offer that didn't involve a corporation. A university offered him professorship. He accepted instantly. He knew what that would've meant for him. Aside from passing down his genius to a new generation, the university was more than generous enough to provide him with the resources he needed to progress his researches. Things were never brighter for him.

But he wasn't satisfied.

He made a few dozen more inventions, some of which sold and made him a bit of cash on the side. But none of that mattered. Each of those little hobbies of his was nothing more than an afterthought. He wanted more out of his life but had no idea what that was. Each new thing that he took interest in, trying to find his true passion, fell completely flat. Destiny was escaping him. He started feeling stuck in that rut which he called a life. He felt empty and spent.

But then, fate decided to intervene. He remembered it clearly, that fateful phone call he received in his office one day. The caller spoke in English but carried a heavy Russian accent. He said that he was a scientist. He said they needed help. He said that only _he_ could help them. Or at least that was how he remembered it. Sure there were more people to be considered to be called for help but he liked to think that he was the only one true choice. So he agreed to the English-speaking, Russian caller's proposal. They agreed to meet.

The next day after receiving the phone call, they met, Him, the English-speaking, Russian caller, and his friend, an English-speaking Englishman. He could tell by the accent. Two people who were clearly not from where he lived were then sitting with him at a Denny's near the university, eating lunch. He remembered he ate waffles.

The three men small talked a bit then went down to business. They needed an expert in the field of applied sciences and mechanics. Guess who they picked. He agreed, even without hearing the rest of the proposal which mainly dealt with why they needed someone like him. He didn't care. He just wanted an opportunity to find his destiny again.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

He found his destiny, alright. He found more than enough of it to go around. He pursued it from then and there. He was inspired again, he knew what he had to do, what he could achieve again. It was his high point in life. The only high point of is life, unfortunately. True, he found his destiny, but the rest of the world would have none of it.

He was removed from the project. They told him his ideas were too dangerous and cannot be controlled. They told him that he was insane. They told him that he can no longer be part of the project. They told him he was fired. And wherever he went after that, everyone else told him the same things. The world would not let him have his dreams. They took away what little joy in life he had. So he abandoned the world above and concentrated his prospects on the world below that. The world filled with cutthroats and schemers. In this world he flourished. In this world he really went somewhere.

It was only here that people started seeing the value of his new inventions. Here, people truly understand what power really means. He saw marvelous business opportunities and didn't waste time to set up shop. And for a time, business was good. He made enough profits to create a small empire of illegal weapons trade. He had a few ups and downs on the way of course, what business doesn't? But, through out it all, he never forgot about his dreams, his true destiny. And though it was a long and rough road to get to where he was now but it was all worth it. Everything was now in place.

The intercom on his desk beeped. He pressed the answer button. "Sir," said the captain's voice.

"Yes, captain?"

"We are ready to begin extraction."

Chang was barely able to contain his excitement. "I'll be right there."

The conversation ended. Chang could feel it again. The call of destiny. His call to power.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere over Greenland.

The T-ship carrying Robin, Starfire, Kole and Gnarrk, was doing around roughly mach 0.7 on its way to Alaska and the supposed location of Chang's hideout. As usual Robin was at the forward cockpit of the ship, piloting it. Starfire occupied the center pod, which was usually reserved for Cyborg. The rear cockpit was occupied by both Kole and Gnarrk mainly because the Titans learned long ago that it would be a mistake to leave a technophobic, prehistoric Neanderthal alone in a highly technical cockpit with a lot of buttons and switches.

Despite being in different cockpits all to their own, they were still very much able to communicate through the built-in communication system on the ship itself. Something Kole was glad for since she had some questions that she wanted the two other Titans to answer.

"Um, guys," said Kole, "you mind I ask a few things?"

"I do not mind, friend Kole," replied Starfire. "Do you, Robin?"

"Not really," said Robin, "ask away Kole."

"Well, you told me that a guy calling himself Watcher showed up in your town recently looking for this old guy, Professor Chang right. And you almost got into a fight with him because you weren't sure whose side he was on. Now we're headed to this place that's supposedly the big bad guy's hideout based solely on information that came form this guy, Watcher."

"Actually, he said he got that information only recently from a contact he has somewhere already on site and monitoring for him."

"Okay, but what I'm asking is that do you completely trust him?" Gnarrk grunted in agreement as if he too wondered exactly how much faith the Titans would give to a stranger.

There was a short silence that followed. Robin wasn't the first to answer Kole instead it was Starfire. "Well, when I first encountered him on that rooftop after the Dr. Light's attempted back robbery my initial impression of him did not seem to make me see him as a…bad guy."

"So you trust him, Star?"

"Not completely so. He is not exactly my friend but I do not believe him to be an enemy either. And he has showed that he was willing to allow us to make our own judgments of him."

"So he wants you to trust him."

"I believe so. I do not want to mistrust him as of the moment. Robin, what do you think?"

Robin didn't answer straight away like he was considering his words. "Yes, I trust him."

"Truly Robin?"

"Yes, Star, I do."

"Now I'm curious, Rob," said Kole. "why do you trust him then. I mean you barely know the guy."

"I know him enough. I've talked to him even saw a little of how he fought. You can tell a lot about a man by just the way he fights, you know. I know he's a guy who never throws the first punch. After our little conversation after that incident with Dr. Light, from the way he talked I could tell it's a habit of his to try and talk his way out of a fight before actually going into one. He's the defensive type."

"Hmm, sounds unusual. Most people like that usually are always on the offensive."

"Most people can't afford to be anything else than that. But he can. And that's also why I trust him. From what I can gather about him, I could guess that he sometimes works alone but is no stranger to teamwork. He makes it a point to be always on top of any situation he gets himself into, knowing the ins and outs, not leaving a single stone unturned. He already knows more than we do and he's willing to let us help him and vice versa. In all honesty, we would probably have gone nowhere if it weren't for him. If we didn't let him into our little circle, we'd probably still be at a dead end in this case. That's why I trust him."

"Because you had no choice?"

"No. Because it was the right thing to do."

"Robin," interjected Starfire, "If I may be so bold to ask, could your reason to trust the Watcher possibly stem from…uh…how should I say this?"

"If, your asking if this is about Terra, then no Star."

"Uh..well, I was just…why do you say that?"

"Terra was completely different. And even so, that incident a long time ago has little to no bearing on my decision to place my trust on Watcher. And if I were to give a reason why I trust him, the most honest answer I can give you is that I simply didn't want to mistrust him."

"Is that so?"

"Mistrusting people all the time even though they were there to help. That was more of _his _style, not mine."

"_He_?" asked Kole. "Who's he?"

Robin thought about answering Kole with a direct answer but thought better of it. He knew it didn't matter to him. Or at least it shouldn't matter to him. "Never mind about that. _He's_ not important. It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure about that. Robin?"

"Let's just say that it was part of the reason why I decided to be a solo act before setting up the Titans."

"Oh…okay, if you say so."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere over the Alaskan Gulf.

The T-car was in hover mode where the wheels were pointed straight down and acted as hover pads that provided the lift for the car. The vehicle was smoothly making its way towards its intended location in a small island in Alaska. Inside was the party that was just in Toronto no more than a couple of hours ago. Cyborg was naturally at the Driver's seat. Raven was riding shotgun. Beast Boy and Watcher was behind them in the back seat. They each had a game controller in their hands and were playing, and clearly enjoying, a first person shooter game shown on two small screen built into the back of the front seat headrests.

The gaming console in the T-car was basically a Gamestation Cyborg took apart and rebuilt to be part of his precious car, mostly through the insistence of Beast Boy. Cyborg eventually agreed to the idea anyway since he thought it would be a nice addition. And since the Titans seem to have been travelling a lot in the recent times, an entertainment system in the T-car didn't seem like a bad idea. The two were ready to do the same with the T-ship but Robin would have none of it.

"Dude, you're pretty good at this," said Beast Boy.

"I have at least four hundred and seventy hours of game play time on this," replied Watcher. "You have no idea what I can do."

"Dude, seriously?"

"Guy's gotta have a hobby right?"

"Well, whatever, man. I'm betting you still can't beat me!"

"Take your best shot, Beast Boy."

"Oh, I will."

Beast Boy's player character loads a weapon that functioned like a rocket launcher and took aim at Watcher's player character came into view. Watcher had anticipated this however and came out the corner with his character holding a live flash grenade and released it at the first sign of his opponent. The grenade went off just as Watcher ducked back into the corner where he came from. Beast Boy was caught off-guard by this tactic and ended up firing his rocket blindly upwards. Watcher took this opportunity to pop out of his hiding spot and aimed at Beast Boy with a weapon that functioned as an assault rifle and pelted Beast Boy's character. The round ended with Watcher's twelfth straight win.

"Alright!" exclaimed Watcher excitedly.

Beast Boy dropped his face in despair. "Aww, man! Not again."

"Sorry, Beast Boy. Wanna call it a day?"

"No way! Best thirteen out of twenty-five!"

"Your on!"

Before either of them could start a new round of the game, the console was turned off by remote. They both saw that it was Cyborg who turned off the console from his control panel up front. Both boys at the back gave out out a protesting "Hey!"

Cyborg ignored it and turned on the auto pilot instead. He turned around and looked over his seat towards Watcher. "I need you to be straight with me for a minute, dawg."

Watcher noticed the seriousness of his tone. Watcher turned serious himself as the other two Titans turned towards Cyborg in curiosity. Watcher waited for Cyborg's inevitable inquiry which he probably already had an idea of anyway.

"We all get why we're after Chang and all," started Cyborg, "but I wanna know something more. Kole and Gnarrk reported to us about Chang's men in Greenland not too long ago and they supposedly took something from some kind of ancient ruin. Rob and Star went to check it out but based on our last conversation I think they didn't find much. So we don't know what this thing is that Chang took. But I'm bettin' you do."

Watcher smirked a bit as he relaxed into his seat. All eyes were on him now. Cyborg was making a point, the Titans didn't really know what they were trying to prevent in the first place. But then again, neither did he. At least he didn't know specifically. "Well, do you want me to start from the top? That might take a while. Or should I just get to the good parts?"

"Well," interjected Raven, "it's still a pretty long way to Marmot island."

"If you want the story, It's not gonna have a happy ending, I'm afraid."

"I'm kinda expecting that, actually."

Watcher smirked a bit more. He let out a sigh. "Alrighty, then. Here's the gist of it…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Thousands of years ago.

_No one is really sure anymore of who or what they were. Almost nothing is known about them, whether they were terrestrial, or extra-terrestrial, how advanced was their technology, what kind of society they might have had, what species they evolved from. __We're not even entirely sure they originated from this planet. They__ don't even have an official name. But there are two things that we are sure of: One, _they_ existed and two, _they_ disappeared…_

It was a utopia. That was the simplest and most honest way to describe it.

Gigantic slender buildings rose to a clear blue sky. Each building shimmered with a beautiful golden metallic shine. Bellow the majestic structures were paved roads and streets. Along these streets were the bustling with the day-to-day activity of the citizens of this vast metropolis. Citizens of a species that most of today's humans would most certainly consider alien.

These creatures, whatever they maybe and wherever they ma come from, were tall slender beings. Their skin was a bit leathery and had a light tan tone to it. Their facial features were hardly discernable but were in no doubt there. The beings had small mouths with no lips to speak of. Their noses were almost completely flat and were hardly noticeable unless one were to actually run their hand over the smooth skin of the beings' faces. Their ears were no more that tow small openings at the side of their heads which were covered by their long dreadlock hair, if you can really call that hair. Their eyes, in contrast to their other facial features were extremely noticeable, big and wide, like the compound eye of most insect species. When two of them spoke to one another, their voices were high-pitched and they spoke in a dialect tat was almost like singing.

They had technology, that was clear. On those paved streets ran traffic. Vehicles of a design that no one in the modern era has ever seen or even dreamt about ran back and forth. Some were on the streets, some were above the streets. Some had beings piloting it, some didn't.

On some streets, there were markets where some of the populations were shopping, buying fruits and vegetables that looked from out of this world

Regardless of what one may classify these creatures, be they alien or just something so ancient that knowledge forgot about them, they were there, alive, and thriving in that time. Their time. Their moment in the vast history of this planet, of this universe. It was something. Even if it was shorter than anyone would want it to be, it was still something.

_They must've thrived. At some point in time, they probably had a working society with advanced tech and everything. We've already seen evidence of this. They were an advanced species, no doubt about that. They had every capability of surviving all the way up to this moment in time. They could've lived up to today, possibly and even replace humans as the dominant species of this planet. Heck, if they did survive up to this time, Humans would've probably never existed, y__ou__ know._

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

_But the main issue is that they _didn't _survive. They disappeared. __Simply disappeared.__ Of course with that said, there just to be someone who decided and ask the obvious question: Why? What happened to them? Why are they gone without so much as leaving a trace? Well, to tell you the truth, we don't know. And most likely we'll never __know__ exactly what happened. But based on things we _do_ know we can make good enough guesses and theories…none of which are pleasant._

Inside one of their large and exquisite temples, a large number of the creatures from a time long gone were gathered in front of an altar where a single priest of some kind, dressed in ceremonial clothing, guiding the proceedings. He was singing to them all and they all followed in his lead. Behind the altar was an elaborate mosaic of fine colored stones that created an image. The image was that of a divine goddess that glowed with an aura symbolizing her awesome and terrible power. Power that was unlimited and unstoppable.

The singing and chanting continued for what would be the equivalence of around three hours. As the creatures suddenly started moving to clear a space in the center of the temple, a group of six started to move and surround a large pit in the center of the room. The knelt over the abyss of the hole on the floor and began chanting. A little later, another group emerged from the surrounding crowd. From that group, two were pushing on a cart which carried a large and elaborately designed sphere about a meter in diameter. They pushed the cart with the sphere right next to the edge of the pit in the center of the temple.

By then, the priest at the head of the altar had somehow moved down to the pit. He moved around the pit towards the cart and positioned himself between the cart and the pit. He laid one hand on the sphere and it instantly began to blossom out like a flower releasing a brilliant light that illuminated half the space. But the light eventually died down until a smaller sphere emitting the same light could be seen. It seemed to have been floating in mid-air and about the size of the average billiard ball, not that these creatures would know of such a thing.

The priest reached out with one hand and grabbed the glowing sphere. He turned around and held out the sphere over the pit with both hands. At that point, the singing around the temple had stopped. All eyes were now at the sphere. The priest took a moment of pause and then dropped the item into the dark depths of the pit.

The silence that followed could've been cut by a knife. Then a glow started to emanate from the pit. It started to grow brighter and brighter until t almost filled the room. At first, the creatures in the temple felt awe and amazement. That feeling was soon replaced with terror.

_A civilization that advanced could not have simply vanished into thin air without any discernable trace. It was pretty obvious that it was something big. I mean really big. _

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

_Our biggest concern was the possibility that this civilization was actually destroyed by its own hands. If that was the case, we don't believe it to be intentional on their part. Personally, I think they were just looking for some security. They tried to create a power that would protect them, that would guard them from anything they could think of. Heck, maybe they created this power to even rule over them, like a god or goddess. But in the end this power they created did only one thing._

_It destroyed them._

The creature that rose above the city was a giant by anyone's measure. Her skin was glassy silver color, pulsating with a brilliant white aura. Her wings resembled moth wings, large and also a glowing silver color. Her head, full of long silver wires of hair, bared a featureless face with nothing to it but two large composite insect-like eyes that were a dark blue color on the left and a dark green color on the right. The most noticeable feature of this new body was bright golden colored crystalline growth on her chest just below the neck line.

Out of her hands came spheres of energy which the goddess of a creature launched randomly in different directions. Whatever the energy spheres touched was obliterated instantly. The city was ablaze after only a few minutes of her escape from the temple.

Who were these creatures to think that they could command her. Nothing commanded her. She served no one. She was power absolute and she only existed for one purpose and one purpose only. To destroy all existence. Already she could feel the power growing within her. She would only have to wait until she would too strong for anything to stop her. She will become immortal, a goddess beyond anything that has come before or will come after.

But the creatures that created her would not be out done so easily as that. With what little strength they could muster, they form their last stand. What warriors remained armed themselves for the inevitable end. The creatures knew the goddess they created was powerful, but at that time, still vulnerable. They had a chance. They had to take it.

What passed as their fighter jets flew down form the amber lit skies of the burning utopia. They fired their exotic looking energy-based weapons at the goddess to do as much damage as they could. The goddess felt some pain but instantly countered their tactics tossing a huge energy sphere at the annoying flies around her, instantly swatting down about half the squad. Those on the ground did their best as well. What would pass for artillery was positioned around the ruined streets to surround the goddess and started firing. Around these artillery, soldiers with rifles started firing upon the gosddess as well. All of them made no difference.

The goddess swept them away with powerful energy blasts. The soldiers were falling left and right. Corpses started to litter the streets, fueling the fires that were already burning. Amidst the chaos, the priest from the temple had somehow survived this long and stared in awe at his mistake. At _their_ mistake. He needed to do something for his people, for this world to survive.

The priest took a rifle from one of the dead soldiers and aimed at the goddess but did not fire immediately. He observed that attacks were useless on most of her skin but he noted that no attack had yet to hit that one spot just bellow her neckline. That bright golden colored crystalline growth. He took a gamble and carefully aimed his weapon then fired.

The shot found its mark and the goddess felt searing pain. This caught everyone by surprise but soon enough everyone got the hint. The priest started yelling out orders like he was an officer but even though he wasn't no one objected. They all aimed at the exact same spot and began to fire.

After the battle was over, the goddess laid defeated on the ground of the ruined city. What little remained of the creatures that once lived in this utopia gathered around their fallen enemy. They saw thet her chest had been torn open and the spot just below her neckline was a gaping hole. In that hole was the glowing sphere that was in the temple not too long ago. The priest walked up to grab it. He held it in his hand and took a look at it. He instantly knew what they had to do

_In the end, whatever power they created was subdued…but only after they paid a horrible price. Their home was decimated beyond resurrection. Their people were all but gone. They, as a race, had no hope in surviving. They knew that and accepted it, most likely, and set out to do one final task._

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

_They realized that the __power they unleashed unto their world was dangerous beyond anything they could ever imagine. They set off to make sure that that power would never be released ever again. But they couldn't destroy it. The best they could do was to lock it up, hide it, and throw away the key._

All hope was lost for them. Their home was gone and what remained of the land they once flourished in was destroyed beyond hope and was not enough to support them anymore. They were too few to start over and were just barely enough to do this one last job. The priest lamented all of this as he watched and oversaw the last task to be done. He guided the workers below him as they started to lower a giant spherical rock into the pit in the center of the temple

He knew what the sphere hid and prayed to his gods that none shall ever find it. And if they do, may they never break it. They did their best with what little they had left to insure that this power remained sealed. The priest looked behind him to momentarily watch a few carpenters carve out drawings into the rock walls. Hopefully, the pictures would be simple enough to convey their message to anyone who would find them. He then looked up into empty space as he allowed the realization to hit him

This was the end for him. This was the end for them. May the gods who created this world have mercy on future generations so that such a tragedy may never be repeated again. He prayed for just that as the final pieces of the vault-like structure that sealed into the sphere was put in place. The lock was set. The lock was there so that if, in the future, there is some manner of creature that would rise and take hold of this world that was at least a little smarter than them that would someday find this place, discover the treasure buried within and maybe…perhaps…be able to control that power and do a better job that they did.

The priest knew he could only hope for so much. But without hope, they had nothing left. This world would have nothing left. So, until his final hour came to claim him, he hoped.

_Even after all that, those guys still made sure that it was possible to get to that power by later generations. Maybe they thought that whatever followed them couldn't be capable as making such bad decisions as they did. I think we can all agree that they were wrong._

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

_The problem is there are still__ people out there who have never learned from history, known or unknown. __Maybe, someday, humanity might be mature enough to deserve the kind of power they created and perhaps even control it for better uses. But today is not that day. This power is nowhere near the hands of one who deserves it. I think you all know who I'm talking about, right?_

Present day

Professor Chang walked up to the doors which lead into the room where the rock sphere they recovered in the icy wastelands was contained. The doors opened and Chang was almost blinded by a bright light. Eventually the light died down and Chang was able to see the source.

His henchmen were in the process of sealing away a brightly glowing sphere inside a specially designed container, which was a glass cylinder with strange-looking metal lid on top. The sphere seemed to be floating on the inside of the container. The henchmen noticed the presence of their boss and immediately handed over the clear container to him for examination.

Chang looked over the container and its contents. He grinned then started to laugh.

_Whatever the future holds, we all have a responsibility to make sure the mistakes of a past long gone from ever happening again. This is why I'm here. This is my job. __I don't think I have to tell you just how vital success is on our part. If we don't stop this here and now, the world will face a crisis beyond anything we've seen in the past._

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Been really busy lately. Not much to say except be sure to catch my next installment of this oh so thrilling piece of literature. Pls. R&R!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: _Still _no Titans here!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Marmot Island, Alaska.

Professor Chang was in a lab of some kind somewhere deep in the facility he was using as a hideout. He held the clear glass cylinder which contained the glowing sphere he and his men just extracted from a much larger sphere made of hard rock and metal. He admired the item in his hands. He looked at it as if it was the most valuable treasure in all of existence. Chances are it was as far as he was concerned.

"Yes…yes, this is it," he mumbled to himself, feeling rather proud.

Now it can begin. His turn to take center stage has finally come. With this much power in his hands the world will fall at his feet. He could already see it happening. The grandeur of it all was addicting to him. He almost couldn't contain his excitement. Unfortunately for the old man, that excitement was very short-lived.

The captain suddenly stepped forward. "Sir, we have a situation."

The instant the captain spoke, Chang was already able to detect the amount of alert in his voice. He didn't like it. He immediately wiped the smile off his face and glared at the captain as if whatever was happening was his fault. The captain stood tall and was unmoved by this expression.

"What situation, captain?" demanded Professor Chang.

"Long range sensors," started the captain, "have detected an incoming aircraft, sir. It was just a little while agao that we correctly identified the craft to be the one known as the T-ship."

"…What!?"

"Sir, the Titans are here."

Professor Chang went wide-eyed under his goggles. He couldn't believe his own ears. He wouldn't even try to believe it and this was made adamantly obvious.

"No…No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!!!"

The captain was as calm as always. "I'm afraid it's the truth ,sir."

"Damn it!!!" By that time, Chang was already stomping around and even pushing over and knocking down some equipment in the room. He was throwing a temper tantrum like a ten year old boy but in truth he was too angry to be embarrassed.

The captain kept that unshakable calm oh his. "Sir, what are your order?"

"What do you think!?" replied Chang. "All of you get to your battle stations. Deploy the turrets and the crawlers. Seal the front entrance. Do it! Do it now, you idiots!"

The people in the room began to get hectic. The henchmen started to grab their weapons from a nearby rack on the wall and arm themselves. They all started to scramble out the door. The captain stood still in the middle of it all. Chang was focused on one thing only. He took the glass container containing the sphere and rushed to another side of the room where another cylinder, this time being made out of metal, was sitting on a table. Chang took this and covered the clear glass cylinder within it which fitted like a glove, causing the bright glow o the sphere to disappear.

Chang was on his way out the door when he noticed the captain had not moved from the spot he was standing in the whole time. "What are you still doing here?"

"Wondering what you're gonna do, sir."

Chang raised the metal cylinder up to eye level. "I have spent my entire life looking for something like this. I cannot let those stupid twerps ruin this for me again. I won't let them. Now, I'm going to take this and get it somewhere safe, away from those brats. Can I trust you, captain, to take care of things here?"

"Always, sir."

"Good. Now get out of my way!"

The captain finally stepped aside and provided Chang a clear path to the door. When Chang had left, the captain was the only soul in the room. Again, he didn't move from that spot for a short while. After a short wait, the captain reached into one of his pockets and retrieved a cellular phone. The captain browsed through the built-in phonebook function's listed numbers and found the one he was looking for and called the number.

After half a ring, the call's receiver picked up. The captain didn't bother letting him talk first because he knew that the receiver was incapable of such.

"There's a problem," said the captain to the phone. "It would seem the _Alumni_ have already caught up with us. No doubt it was one of their agents that told the Titans of this location. We have to move the plan forward now. You know what to do, I'll take care of the rest."

With that, the captain quickly hung-up and calmly made his way to the exit. Now, things were about to get very interesting.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Outside.

Silicis had already hiked back down from the peak to the spot where she kept an eye on the entrance to the bunker where her enemy was hiding. Her allies already on their way and she'd only have to wait a few more hours…maybe, give or take a few minutes. She was never the patient type and thus didn't like to count how much time has gone by since it annoyed her a bit.

"They sure are taking their sweet time," she mumbled to herself. "It's the winter season for Pete's sake, and I'm in the mountains. It's not like it's getting any warmer up here, ya know."

But, in truth, she didn't really want to meet them at all. So a little part of her was actually thankful for every moment they weren't there yet. Her feelings about them were still mixed. Some of those feelings she conjured up herself and others were from before she was born. But she had to force those feelings aside. She had a job to do with the safety of millions hanging in the balance…She wondered how many times that cliché has been used over the years.

A sound of distant thunder. Silicis raised her head to the sound she heard which came from the east. In the distant sky she spotted an object which she could not identify straight away. She reached into one of the pockets of her utility belt and pulled out a small telescope, about the size of the average candy bar. Nevertheless it was powerful enough to have a 30X zoom rating. With it, Silicis was able to indentify the approaching object. It was the T-ship, no mistaking it.

"About damn time," she mumbled to herself.

They were finally here. Maybe now, things can actually get done. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Silicis spotted some activity near the entrance of the bunker. She aimed her small scope towards that spot and saw something a bit worrying.

Right near the entrance to the bunker, a set of four trap doors suddenly popped open. And from out of those trap doors raised a very threatening looking cannon turret. And, true to the style of Professor Chang, each of the four cannons was xenothium-powered, plasma cannons that could disintegrate anything in one blast. Though they were much smaller than the original cannon used by Chang when he still had that observatory back in Jump City, these cannons were a threat nonetheless.

Silicis speculated on what could happen now. With Robin being the probable pilot of the T-chip at the moment, they might survive this ordeal, despite the fact that the T-ship was not exactly a fighter plane. Still she had to do something herself.

She pocketed away her small scope and started to find a path down the mountain and into the valley bellow. Silicis knew she could simply float down there faster but that might draw attention. She had to be sneaky this time.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

In the T-ship.

"Robin," called out Starfire, "I'm detecting several automated defensive platforms on the surface about to target and open fire on us. I believe this could be a problem."

"I second that," said Kole a bit nervously.

"Gnarrrrrk" said Gnarrk.

"I understand you guys," confirmed Robin. "Let me take care of this. Buckle up and prepare for some evasive maneuvering."

Robin threw a switch in his cockpit that gave him full control of the ship's maneuvering capabilities. He kept a vigilant eye on his radar screen. Sure enough he saw four hostile targets on ground level. Knowing Chang, he assumed they were high-powered laser ordinance. Despite being over-confident by nature, Professor Chang was in no way an unprepared person.

"Here they come!"

Robin immediately turned right to avoid the first volley of laser blasts from the ground. All of them missed but came uncomfortable close. The T-ship was equipped with an array of defensive systems, including a scrambler that reduces the accuracy of automated defenses by as much as 80. But that didn't mean a miss was entirely guaranteed every time someone would shot at him.

Another volley of laser blasts made Robin evade to the left this time. He was now following the traditional zigzag pattern of evasion, known to be very effective in this kind of situations. Robin continued this pattern for a while and pretty much managed to keep to T-ship, and his friends, in one piece. But he knew he had to do something soon. During his last maneuver, as he was turning back the other direction, following another volley from bellow, Robin did the unexpected by performing a barrel roll maneuver then, upon reaching a level position from that barrel roll, pulled the T-ship up to do a complete 360 degree mid-air flip. On his way down from the flip, he leveled out into a dive that brought him to about a 50 degree angle to the ground. He was diving at a speed of about 200 mph.

Kole, from the rear cockpit, was expressing her concern. "Umm, Robin, do you know what you're doing?"

"Just hang on!" replied Robin with a rather excited tone.

The T-ship was fast enough that turrets on the ground weren't able to get a proper aim. Right when he was about to meet the ground, Robin pulled back hard on the stick to level out the T-ship so that it was parallel to the ground as well as the four turrets. That was when Robin made his move.

"My turn, now," said Robin as he lined up the sights on his heads up display, or HUD for short, to lock on to the turrets and pressed a button on the flight stick with his thumb to launch a volley of four missiles from the nose of the T-ship. The four projectiles flew towards their designated targets and predictably exploded on impact, kicking up a cloud of snow and dust. The T-ship then pulled up and went into an orbiting flight around the site.

"Bingo," said Robin.

"Whoa, nice shootin', Tex!" exclaimed Kole form the back, followed by a cheering grunt from Gnarrk.

"Thanks."

"Um, everyone," called out Starfire, "I believe it is yet too early for celebrations." Starfire was looking at her own radar screen from her own cockpit and was a bit alarmed to discover that the last missile seemed to have missed and one of the four turrets had survived.

Robin began to see the same thing on his radar screen and immediately looked out the canopy to confirm it visually. By the time the dust and snow cloud subsided, the turret was already aiming at the T-ship and fired before Robin could react. The laser beam cut right through the side of the port engine and rocked the whole ship. Inside their respective cockpits, the Titans struggled to stay on their seats.

"Dang it!" exclaimed Robin. "Saw it too late! Have to stabilize the flight."

The T-ship was designed so that it was still effectively able to fly even with just one of the two main engines running. But even so, maneuvering the T-ship would be like trying to drive a car with horse reins. Until that other engine was fixed, Robin had next to zero evasive maneuverability which was quite a problem at that time.

"I can't dodge the blasts like this!" declared Robin.

"Robin, what should we do now?" asked Starfire. She also noted that the turret below was readjusting its aim and was preparing to fire again.

"We may have to bail!"

"And let the T-ship go down like that?" exclaimed Cyborg's voice from the communicator's speaker.

"Cyborg?"

"Just hang tight, we got this, man!"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Down below on the ground.

The T-car was speeding wildly down the ravine and headed towards the end of the valley where the bunker was built right next to the mountain. The front grill of the vehicle opened to reveal some weapons. From out of one of the barrels, a high-speed missile launched and headed straight for the fourth and final turret not yet destroyed. Upon impact, the turret instantly went up in flames in a brilliant explosion.

"Boo-yah!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Nice Shot, Cy," commented Beast Boy from the back.

"Now let's see about Robin and the others," said Raven from the front passenger seat. "Robin, are you guys alright?"

"Our right engine took a hit but we should be fine for now," said Robin from the comm. screen. "We'll meet you guys on the ground."

"Roger. Step on it Cy!"

Cyborg didn't need to be told twice. He dropped his foot on the gas and headed straight for the valley about a kilometer away. But not everything was smooth sailing as they all thought. From behind them, three of the black-suited henchmen, riding on tricked-out looking snowmobiles, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and where in hot pursuit of the T-car. Beast Boy was the first to notice this.

"Um, dudes," he said, "we got three bogeys on our butts and closing."

Cyborg looked in his rearview mirrors to confirm this. By the time he saw the closest one to them from behind, that henchman had already launched a grappling cable with a barbed harpoon for an end towards the T-car. The grappling line caught the rear window, broke right through, and popped open into a wide hook apparatus. This got the grappling cable hooked to the T-car from the inside. The henchman with the grappling line began to brak in order to slow both vehicles down.

One of the other two henchmen drove along side the T-car and came face to face with Watcher from the side window. The henchman then stood on his snowmobile and jumped up onto the roof of the T-car.

"Great," sarcastically droned Raven. "And I thought _we're_ supposed to be on top of the situation."

The henchman was suddenly on the hood of the T-car, much to the chagrin of Cyborg who lost most of his road vision.

"Man, get off my car!" he exclaimed.

"I'll take care of this," said Watcher all of a sudden. "Just keep the car as steady as you can for me, okay?"

Watcher didn't wait for any of the Titans to object to his next move. He turned intangible and phased himself through the roof of the car and crouched on top to come face to face with the henchman on the hood. The henchman went on the immediate offensive and took out his taser stick to swing out towards Watcher. Watcher turned intangible for the instant the taser stick passed by him.

He solidified again to deliver a fist to the henchman's temple. The henchman managed to grab Watcher's fist however with his other hand. The henchman began to swing back his taser stick again at Watcher. The teen purposely slipped and fell on his back to evade the strike then, using his feet, hooked the henchman by the shoulders and then flipped him over himself. The henchman flew over Watcher's body and nearly off the back of the T-car.

Thinking quickly, the henchman still managed to grab the edge of the roof and prevent himself from falling off. Watcher was getting back up to his feet and turning around to look down on the henchman that was hanging off the back. He was caught off-guard when the henchman suddenly pulled himself up really fast and head-butted watcher in the chin. The teen had barely enough time to regain his bearings and prevent himself from falling off the front of the T-car. Watcher ended up kneeling on the hood of the T-car looking up to see the henchman about to swing at him again.

Watcher thought quickly and grabbed both of the henchman's legs and pulled them towards him. The henchman fell on his back on the roof. Taking this opportunity to get the upper hand in the fight, watcher tried to get on top of the henchman to pin him down and maybe force him off. But the moment he decided to do so the tables were turned again. The henchman was quick enough to grab onto Watcher's shoulders and toss him over the side of the T-car.

Watcher was in a predicament at that point but he wasn't lacking in options. A little quick thinking and Watcher was able to grab onto the side of the roof and pulled himself back towards the car while simultaneously turning himself into his ghostly intangible self. The result was Watcher swung right through and up the interior of the T-car, much to the surprise of Beast Boy, and back up through the roof, and ended up in a crouching position behind the Henchman, also crouching.

The henchman sensed the presence and quickly swung back his taser stick towards the teen. Watcher expected this and reached out his hand to grab the stick by its upper hilt. Once his hand touched the stick, he focused his powers into turning the stick intangible and soon the henchman found himself without a weapon. Capitalizing on that short moment of surprise, Watcher spun on his feet and delivered a roundhouse kick towards the unprepared henchman.

The man in black felt the blow to the back of his head and was sent flying over the back of the T-car and straight into his very surprised comrade driving the snowmobile with the tow cable. The crash of the two bodies sent them both into the snow hard and left the snowmobile out of control. The erratic movements of the snowmobile managed to snap the grappling cable right at the base of the hook, freeing the T-car.

The last of the henchman started to ride up to the T-car himself, not wanting to let it get away. The henchman rode alongside the T-car and prepared to jump on top of it just like the last guy. Watcher, however, had other plans. He held onto the taser stick he took from his previous opponent like it was a short spear. He waited for the right moment and, when the henchman was close enough, threw the taser stick nailing the man in black right in the noggin. The black-suited henchman was instantly knocked off his snowmobile and ate it at the snow.

Watcher grinned in victory. "Don't start what you can't finish, asswipes!"

He turned around and looked towards the front of the car. They had already arrived at the valley and the T-ship was just touching down on hover mode. When the T-car came to a stop right next to the big, orange craft Watcher hopped off the T-car and met everyone when they got outside.

"Nice moves," said Robin in a congratulating tone. "Had fun?"

"As a matter of fact…" replied Watcher.

"So, you're the guy everyone's been talking about," said Kole stepping up to Watcher. "Watcher, right?"

The teen nodded. "And you must be Kole."

Kole looked over Watcher inquisitively and with the sharp eye of an eagle. Watcher sensed this and was stark still. Was she evaluating his as an ally or something?

"You know what…" continued Kole. "You're cuter than I thought you'd be."

Watcher sweatdropped with a slight blush. "Umm, thanks."

Just then, Gnarrk walked up to watcher as well. Watcher could see that the Cro-Magnon was eyeing his inquisitively as well, making him feel slightly nervous. Gnarrk even moved his head closer to him and took a few sniffs of his person. Gnarrk then stood back and gave Watcher one last once over. He then grunted in a cheery tone and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking tall.

"Gnarrk thinks you're cool, too," said Kole on her friend's behalf.

Watcher sweatdropped a bit bigger. "Umm, thanks again…"

Raven floated up to the group as they all gathered between their vehicles. "I'm sure there will be plenty of time for pleasantries later. Right now we have a job to do and I think we should do it before anything else goes wron--"

_**STOMP!**____**STOMP! STOMP!**_

Raven was interrupted and the entire team found themselves suddenly surrounded by three twenty-foot mechanical insect of sorts that came out of nowhere. They were all basically a giant globe that resembled an eye that was colored in a glossy white with a red pupil, From the globe's top parts stemmed out four mechanical legs that had a several number of joints that all ended in a two-pronged claws that served as feet.

"Crawlers!" exclaimed Robin, giving a name to these strange robots.

"You know these things?" asked Watcher.

"Their part of Chang's catalogue. Watch out for those eyes, they're actually heavy laser cannons."

Beast Boy looked annoyingly at Raven. "You just had to jinx it, didn't you Rae?"

Raven glared back. "Do you want to die by their hands or mine?"

The three crawlers were creeping slowly towards the Titans. They all readied themselves for battle.

"Would any of you happen to have a plan at this moment," said Starfire. "I would be elated to hear it." The crawlers kept creeping closer and closer, their red eyes glowing ominously.

Everything froze Watcher's PDA began to ring again. As if out of courtesy, the piloted Crawlers momentarily shut down their weapons in curiosity of the turn of events. He quickly picked it up and saw that he didn't receive a cal but just a simple SMS message. He opened it and read it to himself. It said:

Sender: Sil

Message: I'll take care of this. Get everybody inside, now! Trust me! Finish the mission.

Watcher grinned to himself. Cyborg noticed this and had to inquire. "What's up, dawg?"

"We need to get inside, now."

"But what about these guys?"

"That's what trusted teammates are for."

As if on cue, and by an unseen force, deep potholes formed right under the feet of the three crawlers causing them to trip and fall over. The Titans were a bit confused for a moment and couldn't see what happened. Watcher called out again. "C'mon, now's our chance!"

No one had time to argue. They all rushed to the front gat of the bunker where Raven was the first through by creating a black magic portal for everyone else to use. They all jumped in one after the other. Robin and Watcher were the last to get in. Before they did, Robin called Watcher's attention.

"I hope this teammate of yours is capable."

Watcher grinned back at him. "You have no idea, man."

They nodded approvingly at each other and stepped through the portal, closing it. Back outside the crawlers were finding their bearings again. They all looked around in a confused state. The pilots inside the things were searching in vain for the Titans who were no longer there. But they detected another presence which surprised them all. They all turned towards the entrance of the ravine where a new figure was seen. A figure dressed in black and yellow attire with a hood covering her head.

What caught the crawlers' attention most was that she was standing on a floating piece of rock.

"Guess there won't be any overtime today," she mumbled to herself and smirked lightly.

The crawlers instantly considered her a hostile target and charged their weapons. She wasn't afraid for a second. She flew forward on her rock into a frenzy of laser fire.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's note: Been feeling under the weather so I was a bit held back in my writing. This story is almost done so please be patient so I can make the ending into the best it can be. Till then, pls. R&R


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: And the monotony goes on: I don't own certain people.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Outside the bunker.

Silicis flew a low orbit around the valley on a small piece of rock. Around her were a few more large rocks orbiting her with great speed. These rocks the circled her continuously served as a shield to protect her as she was being constantly pummeled by laser fire from the three crawlers below which were concentrated in the middle of the alley floor. She was waiting for the right moment to strike.

"C'mon," she mumbled to herself, "just give me one opening…"

It came soon enough. The opening she wanted happened when all three of the crawlers shot their cannons simultaneously at her. She blocked with the largest rock she had at the time. Upon impact, the rock exploded into a cloud of dust and ruble. It took Silicis only a second to realize that this was a good opportunity to counter. The exploding rock had created an impromptu smoke screen for her and she took this moment to get her second largest rock that she kept in the air and send it hurtling towards the middle crawler below.

From out of the dust, the huge boulder shot like a bullet towards the crawler and nailed it hard. The crawler's armor was dented just over the eye of the thing and the whole machine was sent backwards and sliding across the snowy rock of the valley floor.

The other two crawlers turned to watch their fallen ally eat the snow then turn their sights back around to Silicis. However, by the time they had turned around Silicis had zoomed pass them and was now behind them. She turned her rock around so that she was facing them now and, with their backs still to her, she threw both hands forward and summoned diagonal pillars of rock from the ground to sprout up and knock down the other two crawlers. The two insect-like robots were knocked into the air a bit and came crashing back into the ground.

Silicis pulled back her hands and withdrew the two pillars of rock back into the earth. She grinned to herself a little. Silicis wasn't able to notice in time that the first crawler she knocked over was already recovering and aiming at her while charging up its gun. When she did notice, the only thing Silicis could do was to force the rock she was floating on into a more vertical position to act as a shield for her. The laser blast hit hard and the rock exploded violently. Silicis was thrown off and she landed on the ground on her back and a little dazed.

Silicis managed to recover in a short moment but when she got back up to her feet, all three of the crawlers were also up and about already and surrounding her. The blows she dealt to them didn't seem to have had that much effect. She mentally beat herself for not remembering exactly how tough these things were. After all, she already faced one of them before so she was supposed to already have an idea how hard their outer shell of armor was. She had to hit harder.

As they were charging up their laser canons to full power, Silicis summoned a wall of rock from out of the ground to surround her completely. The crawlers opened fire into the wall of rock that encapsulated her which was actually not that strong and crumbled easily under their fire. But when the dust cleared Silicis was nowhere to be found in the center of the ruble. The crawlers' pilots were confused, even momentarily considering that they had disintegrated her in all of the firing.

They were wrong in thinking that. Off to one side the earth exploded in a cloud of snow and dust. Silicis sprouted out of a hole in the ground from where she tunneled to while creating the small circular wall of rock that protected her. As she expected the crawlers were not expecting this and allowed her a moment to take the advantage. Through a few waving motions of her arms, Silicis summoned more rock pillars, three of them, out of the ground. Before the crawlers could react, she launched tem all towards her opponents.

The three slabs of rock glided across the ground towards their intended targets. Two of the slabs were successful in hitting two of the crawlers on their side, denting the armor a bit and knocking them down hard. However, the third crawler, which was a little farther away, had a split-second more time to react and that was apparently enough. The third crawler managed to jump right over the slab as it passed.

It landed squarely on all four mechanical limbs and wasted no time in aiming its main weapon at the super-powered girls. Silicis was nearly evaporated right then and there had it not been for her quick thinking. She summoned another pillar of rock right from under her feet that lifted her up into the air just as the crawler fired. The laser beam completely obliterated the bottom half of the rock pillar and left just the upper slab for her to stand on. But she anticipated this as was already telekinetically floating the rock.

She was already flying forward before the crawler could notice the danger of her. She had already closed three-fourths of the gap between them when the crawler was charging up its main cannon again. The crawler was too late as Silicis suddenly jumped backwards and off her rock which kept on its speeding path and met the crawler right in its eyeball just as the crawler fired.

The extreme proximity and pressure of the impact of the laser blast and the rock caused a major backfiring effect which completely obliterated the front part of the crawler, including the cannon and most of the frontal armor. The crawler was also thrown back on the ground. For a while, it laid there, unmoving except for a few sudden twitches of the limbs.

Silicis waited for a bit until a panel on the side of the fallen machine opened up. The pilot of the crawler, just another one of the many white-suited henchmen Chang seemed to have in surplus, stumbled his way out in a daze and he was quickly followed by a fairly large amount of smoke coming from inside the cockpit. Silicis knew at that point that that particular crawler was out of commission. One down and two to go, she thought.

Speaking of which, Silicis was turning to face her other two opponents when she was almost caught off-guard. Turning too her right side, she spotted on of the crawlers already up and about to fire on her. She quickly constructed a wall of rock the separated them but she didn't have time to properly solidify it. As a result, when the laser blast came the thin and flabby wall was easily destroyed.

Though mostly unhurt, Silicis was flung back by the blast and landed on her back with only the thin layer of snow to break her fall. She was momentarily dazed but that moment of defenselessness was all that the other crawler needed. As she tried to get up again, Silicis felt cold metal clamp-like things close over her midriff.

A moment later, she was lifted off the ground in one swift motion that made her a little dizzy. She saw that she was now in the grasp of the second crawler which was now holding her up to its eyeball, which was getting ominously brighter.

Silicis struggled while mentally cursing herself for being so sloppy. C'mon you, she thought to herself, your better than this. Think! As the crawler's main weapon charged to full power the clamp around Silicis began to slow, and torturously, tighten its grip. Silicis could only grunt in annoyance.

"Don't you…know," she said with slightly struggled breath, "it's…rude to…grab a girl…like that!?"

Silicis waved a glowing palm out towards the ground below the crawler. Instantaneously, three deep potholes appeared right under the three mechanical limbs the machine still had on the ground. The crawler instantly fell off balance and wobbled violently trying to regain its grip. It was forced to let go of Silicis so that it could use that limb to balance itself.

Silicis was expecting to be released but her plan semi-backfired as she was still released but it happened in such away that she was actually thrown with such force that she was headed right into the mountain slope. She had to think faster his time. She wrapped herself in the fetal position in mid-air. Her body started to glow a bright, golden hue. When she hit the mountain slope, it was like a massive bomb of earth and snow exploded into the air.

The two crawlers turned to the direction of where the girl crashed into the earth. The pilots were a bit confused. Somehow they can't imagine the average human body, even if thrown at that much force, could generate an impact like that. Not unless she had the mass of a dozen wrecking balls tucked inside that body of hers, which was unlikely.

The two crawlers could only stare and wait for something to happen. It took all of ten seconds before something did.

At first it was just a minor quake. But then the vibrations, though locally concentrated, were getting pretty rough. Then without warning, the spot where Silicis crashed exploded again into another cloud of snow and rock. The two crawlers looked on and actually backed away a bit. As soon as the dust cleared the crawlers were expecting to see the girl. They saw something else.

From out of the cloud rose a creature that was neither human nor animal, at least not in the traditional definition of animal. The creature, slightly crouched, had a body completely made out of stone. It stood on thick legs of rick that ended in three-clawed feet. Behind those legs, a long rocky tail was swinging from sided to side. Above those was a large, muscular-looking torso with a thick and muscular arms with sharply-clawed hand attached to each shoulder. It also had two bat-like, skeletal wings attached to its back. Topping the creature off was a reptilian-shaped head that had twin horns growing backwards making the head look like a letter 'V'. It had two glowing gold eyes that stared down onto the two crawlers. Every crack on its body glowed the same golden hue.

The crawlers backed away even more. The Stone Dragon in front of them stood to its full height of about seven meters. It spread its large skeletal wings outward and the wings started to glow brighter. With a mighty roar that shook the ground below its feet, the Stone Dragon took to the air and dived down towards its prey.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Inside the bunker.

Robin turned around at the sound of the roar. All of the other seven superheroes with him also momentarily froze in place at the sound of the roar.

"What was that?" asked robin to no one in particular.

Next to him, Watcher simply smirked. "Don't worry," he said, "its just another distraction to keep the old man occupied and us in the clear. That means we better finish out business here ASAP."

Robin turned to Watcher. "You sure this friend of yours can handle the situation outside?"

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

"Alright, then. Let's keep moving guys!"

They all continued forward deeper into the facility. The hallway they were on seemed to end at a pair of double doors. The doors were labeled 'warehouse a' indicating what the next room would be like. The eight heroes busted right through the doors, poised and prepared for attack with their respective armaments held at the ready. They did this after every door they bust through. They had no real idea about their way around this place and were simply relying on the chances that they would encounter Professor Chang as they went deeper.

They looked around the warehouse. It was filled with nothing but stacks of empty wooden boxes that might have held various things in the past but were simply left to rot away at the present. The ignored those and looked ahead. There was another door all the way on the other side of the warehouse. Seeing that there was nothing left of interest here, they continued to move.

"Man, how deep does this place go?" asked Beast Boy to the rest.

"According to my scans," said Cyborg, referring to the scan he made on the electronic wiring that ran through the facility allowing him a rough schematic read out of the bunker, "there has to be another floor below this one. And since most of the wiring goes downstairs I'm guessing that that's gonna be were we find the bad guys."

"Still, It's best we sweep this floor first," said Robin.

"Does anybody else hear something buzzing," asked Kole out of the blue.

For a moment the rest of the gang didn't know what she was getting at until they too started an ominous buzzing sound to the left. It was also getting louder. They looked to the left and were especially alarmed when they saw a volley of three small missiles headed their way. They all went bug-eyed. Raven was the first to react and immediately created shield of black energy that covered her entire team. The missiles hit the black shield and exploded without harming any of the heroes on the other side.

Raven lowered her shield but kept a ready stance. Everyone did the same and looked around the room. It was pretty obvious by then that they were not alone.

"As usual," said a familiar, juvenile voice. "You lint-brained morons are still as slow as you are lame!"

Gizmo, the boy genius of the HIVE Five appeared from behind the crates where he fired his missiles. As usual he was flying on a set of twin rotors sprouting from his backpack. The Titans glared back at his annoying grin. They already knew what was coming. One thing that's somewhat honorable about the HIVE: they never travel alone.

"Did you really think it was that easy?" Fallacy appeared from the front. Along side her were Kid Wykkyd and See-More.

"No way we'd let you guys take all the fun!" Mammoth appeared to the right, opposite of Gizmo.

"It's nothin' personal y'all." Billy Numerous and a number of his clones appeared behind the Titans, opposite of Fallacy.

The Titans were completely surrounded. The tension in the room started to rise a bit. For the Titans, this was a major inconvenience to their plans which they could hardly afford as it was. The former HIVE students were opponents that were not to be taken lightly. The hive started coming closed and closing the gap between them and the group of heroes.

Everything sort of paused when Watcher stepped forward towards Fallacy. "Before we do this," he said with a calm voice that only he could manage in such a situation, "I want to ask you something."

Fallacy raised an eyebrow. "What do you wish to know?"

"Exactly what do you expect to get out of this, incase you win. What is your ultimate objective here? Is it revenge for this old man killing _your_ old man?"

Fallacy smirked at the boy. "Hmmm, you know more than I give you credit, o humble observer. But even you are not so all-seeing. Maybe, at the start of all this, that was our objective. The man we are after has committed the foul sin of betraying our dear Brother Blood and thus he only deserves to be sent to the deepest circles of hell, where betrayers are watched over by Stan himself…But things have changed since we last met."

"Oh really?"

"Do you exactly what is it that Chang posses which you people are so adamantly worried about?"

Watcher didn't say anything at first. The Titans looked amongst themselves and knew that they knew less than what he knew. Watcher let out a sigh. "No, we don't."

Fallacy grinned at the boy. "I can sense your being honest."

"But neither do you." Now it was watcher who was grinning as Fallacy's lips flattened. But she eventually smirked again after only a short while.

"That is true as well. We too are not entirely sure of what this thing is. But we do know one thing to be true. Whatever this thing is it is the key to an awesome power."

"And let me guess. You want that power, right?"

"Of course we do, you snot-brained moron!" exclaimed Gizmo.

"With that kind of power on our hands," said See-More, "we could rebuild the HIVE and then some!"

"No one's ever gonna mess wit' us again!" said Billy Numerous. "We'll be takin' names from all over the place. We'll be livin' like kings!"

"Yeah," said Mammoth, "and I can finally get that popcorn machine I've always wanted."

Watcher was unmoved by all of them. A frown started to form on his face but her regressed it, wanting to keep his cool. He didn't want them to know that he was getting very pissed off by then. "You people…have no right to such power!"

Fallacy stepped forward. "And you do? What will you do when you have this power? Will you seal it away in some God-forsaken vault buried deep in the ground where no living soul could ever reach? And what for? To _protect_ this precious world of yours? Let me tell you something about power. Power is not something to be kept hidden. It is something to be wielded by those who have the strength and daring to do so, something which you apparently lack. Thus power is only deserved by those who would rise to the top of nature's hierarchy and not by the weak and feeble like you! You are the ones who have no right to this power and we do not intend to let any of you reach it!"

The HIVE members began to ready themselves for the upcoming battle. They threw away their relaxed looks and became more aggressive-looking in their stances. The Titans were trapped like rats in a cage or at least that's how they felt like. The problem wasn't even in dealing with the HIVE. They were capable of that. The thing that occupied most of their concern was the fact that Chang could be getting away. After all that has happened, the old man was something they couldn't afford to lose.

"We don't have time for this right now!" cursed Robin in a hushed tone.

"Anybody got any suggestions?" said Raven.

"We'll have to split up," said Watcher.

"How?"

"You guys go and get Chang. I'll take care of these guys."

Robin was stunned to hear that. "What?! You can't take all of these guys on your own!"

"Nothing matters but the objective. You have to complete my mission. Don't worry; I'm quite capable, Robin. Remember that I'm the only one here who's immune to Fallacy's tricks. Besides…I trust you guys."

Robin was about to answer but hesitated for a moment. A response like that was not the first thing he expected to hear. It actually made him smirk slightly to hear it.

"In that case," Robin said while placing a reassuring hand on Watcher's shoulder, "trust us to do what we're capable of doing. We'll finish _our _mission together. Let us take care of the riff-raff."

Watcher turned to Robin with a slightly confused look. Eventually, his lips curved up. "Have it your way, bird boy. But I'm still worried about Chang though."

"We'll take care of that!" exclaimed Kole while Gnarrk grunted something in the same vein. "It's nothing we can't handle. Just distract these guys for us so we can make it to the door."

"You sure about that?" said Robin.

"We've taken on that geezer's posse before. We can handle them now. We'll go in and grab the prize and be back in time for the victory dance."

"Alright then, smoke bomb on the way."

Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small smoke pellet. He quickly threw it in the direction of Fallacy and the smoke pellet exploded on the floor right at her feet. The resulting cloud forced them to shut their eyes and hold their breaths. Just the kind of distraction Kole and Gnarrk needed. They quickly sprang into action.

Kole rushed forward and Gnarrk followed right behind her. Kole jumped up into the air and tucked herself into a little ball. Immediately after, she crystallized her entire body. Gnarrk grabbed her crystal body in mid-air and reeled up like a professional bowler and sent Kole rolling on the floor at high sped towards Fallacy, See-More, and Kid Wykkyd while they were still distracted by Robin's smoke pellet.

Kole rolled right past the three HIVE members. Gnarrk rushed up to the trio and jumped right over them. He grabbed Kole on the way and brought her up to his shoulder. Kole de-crystallized herself and hopped onto Gnarrk's back. The duo rammed right through the door and proceeded deeper into the facility.

Fallacy, once regaining her sight, turned around and noticed the two that got away. "No! I won't let you--"

She was cut off when Watcher suddenly appeared in front of her, rising up from the floor in front of her in his ghostly, intangible form. He solidified and challengingly glared at Fallacy. "Your fight is here, little miss spellbinder!"

She glared back at him then quickly turned around to see that five original Titans already have brought out their game faces. She turned back towards Watcher who was now mockingly grinning back at her.

"Very well," said Fallacy. "If you desire your destruction so much…"

Fallacy pulled out her rope dart and got into a ready position with the weapon in hand. The rest of the HIVE members followed suit and readied their own respective armaments.

"We will oblige you," said Fallacy. "Prepare yourselves!"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Deeper into the Facility.

Professor Chang was in his office sitting in front of his laptop computer, madly bashing on the keyboard. On the desk right next to the computer was the metal case that carried what he considered his most valuable possession. He would dart his eyes back and forth alternately looking at the screen and the case next to it.

He was downloading all his notes, all his precious research, into a disk and simultaneously deleting the files from the hard drive. In the back of his mind, he felt it wasn't really necessary since the self destruct function he built into the bunker, which he put in just for such an occasion such as this and to no knowledge of the rest of his henchmen, would render everything useless. Still, he would not take anymore chances. Years of experience has taught him that people like the Titans live purely on off chances.

He could not allow them to take away his dreams again. Too many people have done that already. This was his time to shine and he would not let anything get in the way of that.

Suddenly the door opened which caused the Professor to jump out of his seat. The captain walked in rather casually from beyond the door and approached the desk.

"Captain, what are you doing here?" said Chang. "The Titans are in the bunker! You need to be out there getting rid of them!"

The captain only continued to walk towards the desk. "Actually sir, that's not the whole problem. It would seem the HIVE Five has also infiltrated the facility and they seem to be squaring off with the Titans."

"What?!"

"They all want the orb."

"Well they can't have it! Get yourself out there and defend me!"

The captain stopped right in front of the desk and didn't move. Chang stared at his henchman like he was staring at a Picasso painting. "What? Why are you just standing there?"

The captain offered nothing in response. Chang was getting aggravated. The old man got up and walked around his desk and came face to face with the captain. "I gave you an order!" he exclaimed. "Why aren't you listening to me?!"

"Your orders are no longer mine to follow," said the captain in a deathly cold tone of voice.

"…What did you say?"

"Professor, you've outlived your usefulness. There's nothing left for you to do except…disappear."

"Now wait a minute! Who do you think you a--!"

Chang was cut off. His mouth was stuck agape as it was. He didn't even felt it until it was three inches deep into his head. A moment later he couldn't feel anything else. Suddenly the thing was yanked out violently. Chang's body went limp for a moment then fell to its knees, and then finally laid flat on the floor face down. The wound at the back of the head just below the base of the skull was quite evident as it started to bleed and stain the collar of Chang's white suit.

The captain looked down at the dead Professor then up again towards Silencer who already reached into his nice, clean-looking suit with one hand and pulled out a handkerchief. Silencer then used that handkerchief to meticulously wipe clean his Fairbairn-Sykes combat knife. Silencer looked back up at the captain with emotionless gray eyes.

The captain took one last look back down at the old man's corpse, and then reached both hands up to remove the helmet. Once the helmet was off, it revealed the mild features of a middle-aged woman with long, curly, red hair. The woman removed the rest of her baggy suit. Underneath she was dressed in a black military fatigue. On her hip was a light-brown leather belt carrying a number of bullets held in sequential loops sawn into the belt and a holster which held a Webley Mk VI Revolver. A name patch on her fatigue displayed the name 'Evans' clearly.

"Should've shot you when I had the chance twenty-four years ago," said Evans.

At that moment, they both heard the computer beep. They looked towards it and the disk tray opened out to eject a freshly written disk. Evans knew what it was. She took the disk and placed it in an empty CD case she found lying around on the desk and put the disk in one of her many pockets. She checked the laptop again just to make sure all the files were deleted as Chang wanted. As they wanted.

Satisfied, she sat down and pressed a few keystrokes on the laptop. After her command was inputted, Evans stood up and moved around the table again towards the door.

"Let's go," she said to the only other person in the room. "Our job is done here. We better leave before this place goes under."

Silencer simply nodded in response and left with Evans leaving the room empty of life. Left on the desk was the container that held the orb that Chang worked so hard to obtain and the laptop computer. The only sound in the empty room was coming from the laptop computer and its screen displayed one single thing:

_SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED._

_1__0:00…__0__9:59…__0__9:58…__0__9:57…__0__9:56…__0__9:55…_

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Back outside.

The two remaining crawlers were on either side of the Stone Dragon circling the reptilian creature. Within the confines of the dragon-shaped armor was Silicis, smirking in confidence. The Stone Dragon tactic has been one of her more favorite tactics ever since he first used it back in Steel City, for a number of reasons.

The tactic's image value alone made it worth the effort. A seven foot medieval dragon was, quite arguably, a very imposing sight. And Silicis had some good knowledge of the power of intimidation. And though it didn't seem like it the tactic allowed for a greater deal of flexibility. Silicis was completely protected in this form and the bad guys are usually too distracted to target her specifically in the heavily armored chest of the dragon. This allowed her fore more moves to take her opponents by surprise. Finally, she thought it looked pretty damn cool.

The crawler on her right suddenly charged towards the Dragon in a hurry. The Dragon saw it a mile coming and when the thing was less than a meter away, it jumped straight up into the air and let the crawler slip right under it. When the Dragon was right on top of the crawler, it slammed back down pressing the crawler to the ground with its large, clawed talons.

In this, the Stone Dragon was distracted to the fact that the second Crawler was already charging towards it. The Dragon saw the crawler too late and was tackled to the ground on its back. The four-legged machine on top held the rocky reptile down with three of its limbs and used the last one as a spear, repeatedly trying to jab at the head of the dragon. The Dragon kept its head on the move and avoided every single attempted impalement.

The Stone found an opportunity and shot its head up at the crawler and head-butted the thing off of its body. The jolt from the head-butt disoriented the crawler enough for the Dragon to free its other limbs and toss the crawler aside, sending it sprawling on the snowy ground.

The Stone Dragon then hoisted it self back up to a standing position. It turned towards the crawler which already recovering itself. Not likely, thought Silicis as she willed her Dragon form to rapidly spin on its sharp heels in order to swing out its long, rocky tail at the crawler. The whipping tail nailed the crawler just as it turned towards the dragon. The attack was enough to dent the side of the armor and send the crawler flying to the side a couple hundred feet before it went sprawling on the ground again.

The Dragon now turned to the other crawler which was already aiming at it with its laser eyeball. As the crawler fired a laser blast the Dragon went airborne and evaded the attack, flying on its stony skeletal wings that were very brightly glowing gold. The crawler followed the Dragon's movements with its aim and continued to fire off blast after blast of its laser cannon, every shot finding nothing but thin air. The Stone Dragon flew fast and in confusing patterns to keep the crawler's aim as inefficient as possible. It eventually decided to go on the attack.

Inside the rocky armor, Silicis had already thought of her strategy. She could tell from all the shooting that the crawler, when firing all out, has a maximum fire rate of just one shot every two seconds. A weakness she did not hesitate to exploit.

In evading a laser blast from below, the Dragon did a quick barrel roll and dove straight down towards the crawler. Silicis counted in her head, one-one thousand, two-one thousand, then shot the whole body of the dragon to one side unexpectedly, and narrowly evaded the blast. The Dragon evaded two more laser blasts I this manner before finally getting close enough and swiped its sharp-clawed hands right at the part where the crawler's legs met the top of the main body.

The Stone Dragon managed to rip off two of the four limbs the crawler had. Te crawler lost practically all of its mobility after that and simply fell to the ground. The Dragon looped upwards then zoomed back down on the fallen crawler to deliver a finishing blow. The pilot of the fallen crawler didn't wait to see it coming. He blew open his hatched and rushed outside. The pilot got away from is machine far enough and just in time to see the Stone Dragon come crashing down on it feet first. The impact sent a shockwave across the ground and nearlt completely flattened the crawler's main body.

Two down, one to go, thought Silicis from within the stone reptile as she watched the pilot run towards safety. Now there was only the last crawler to take care of. Speaking of which…

The last Crawler was already up from its last being knocked–down but at this point it was so heavily damaged that could barely stand still, let alone aim its weapon properly . But somehow managed to do so anyway and fired off a laser blast that nailed the Dragon on the right shoulder, knocking it down momentarily. The crawler went on to fire a second shot after a predictable two-second delay. By then the Dragon was already up and in the air one again and the crawler missed it shot by a mile.

The dragon dropped back down to the ground and landed on all fours. The Crawler was aiming again when suddenly the Stone Dragon let out an ear-shattering roar. Inside the crawler, the pilot felt evry vibration of it and had to clutch his ears to prevent himself from going deaf. By the time the pilot looked back up at his screen, the Stone Dragon was already barreling down on his crawler and he simply couldn't react in time.

The Dragon didn't bother with any fancy moves this time. Instead it just slammed its entire body at the crawler with devastating effects. The crawler's outer layer of armor completely broke off from its bolts and the main laser weapon was crushed in. The crawler, for the last time, sprawled on the ground. The Stone Dragon hovered a short distance away and watched the crawler intently, its giant wings glowing bright gold again.

Moments later, the pilot pulled himself out of the destroyed battle machine. He looked up at the dragon and started to nervously back away from it. The dragon in turn let out another deafening roar. The pilot instantly turned around completely and ran towards the bunker and to his safety.

A few short moments passed.

The, suddenly, the Stone Dragon's body lost all of its glow and began to disintegrate piece by piece. After a while, all that was left was Silicis standing on one last piece of floating rock. She let out a long exasperating sigh when she was sure that it was all over for her.

"Man, what a day this is turning out to be," she mumbled to herself.

She turned towards the bunker. She stared long and hard as if she could see through the concrete and the mountain to see what was inside. She couldn't of course so all she co0uld do was hope that everything inside was goince as she would want it to go. She tried to reassure herself by remembering who was handling the rest. They were good. But, she knew, 'good' didn't necessarily mean enough. Nevertheless she tried to stay positive

"Don't let me down, you guys," she mumbled to no one in particular.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Inside the bunker, particularly warehouse A.

Kid Wykkyd was in a close proximity battle with Raven. Both of the darkly dressed teens had more than enough skill to match each other in that sort of fight and it occurred to them eventually that they would go nowhere like that. Raven was the first to make a move. Raven took to the air and extended her arms outward. Two boxes from either side of Raven were instantly surrounded by a black energy field and the two boxes suddenly hurled themselves at Kid Wykkyd.

The HIVE student simply teleported out of the way and the boxes hit nothing bu concrete floor. Kid Wykkyd reappeared somewhere near the ceiling and dropped down onto Raven. The sorceress looked up just ion time and created a shield of black magic to stop Kid Wykkyd from hitting her. Nevertheless, the unexpected move by her opponent still forced her back onto the floor.

Once on the floor, Raven pushed hard and threw Kid Wykkyd back up into the air. In mid-air Kid Wykkyd once again disappeared. Raven went wide-eyed when she realized that her opponent was nowhere to be seen for a moment. She kept her eyes peeled; she knew this particular enemy of hers and what strategy he liked to use. Kid Wykkyd loved sneak attacks. That tactic worked best with his powers and it was combat 101 that the least expecting fighter is the most vulnerable kind. It was then that Raven realized that the dark boy would probably just reappear directly behind her in the next two seconds.

Predictably so, Kid Wykkyd suddenly appeared behind Raven and attempted to grab her from behind. However Raven already saw it coming and telekinetically called one of the wooden boxes from the side and sent it slamming into Kid Wykkyd's side. The dark villain sprawled on the floor .

"That's what you get for sneaking up on a girl," said Raven.

"And this is what you get for messin' with the HIVE!" said Billy Numerous from Raven's side.

Raven looked in the Direction of Billy Numerous' voice and saw that around two dozen of his clones have formed some kind of human tower four Billys high. At the top, the top few Billys were about to drop an exceptionally large box on top of Raven who could only look up nervously.

"Titan pancake comin' right up!" exclaimed the Billys on top of the stack.

"Like heck!" exclaimed Cyborg a few feet to the side.

The number of Billy Numerous clones looked to that side and found the large, half-metal Titan already aiming his sonic cannon and firing off a strong blast of sonic energy. The sonic blast hit the large crate being carried by the top most Billys. The explosion knocked down the human tower of clones and bodies piled on top of each other like dirty laundry. All the clones disappeared and there was left just one Billy Numerous, pooped-out on the floor.

"Boo-ya!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Don't be too happy there, tin-man!" exclaimed a familiar voice from the side. Cyborg turned and saw Mammoth coming at him with over six hundred pounds of pure muscle. The Titan saw the HIVE member a little too late and couldn't evade when Mammoth took a swing at him and knocked him straight into one of the many stacks of wooden crates that were spread across the room. Piles of wood came crashing down on Cyborg.

About three seconds later, the pile of wood exploded into the air after being penetrated by sonic blast. Cyborg pulled himself up from the floor just in time to see Mammoth trying to get the jump on him again. This Time Mammoth had jumped high into the air and was coming down with a double hammer fist to Cyborg. The Titan thought quicker this time and dodge-rolled to the side. Mammoth narrowly missed Cyborg by half-an-inch. Cyborg got back up and aimed his sonic cannon to fire a quick snapshot burst of sonic energy, nailing Mammoth on the side of his head.

Mammoth went sliding down the floor, momentarily stunned but was still far from out of the fight. Cyborg didn't plan on giving him the opportunity to get back up on his feet. Cyborg went rushing towards the fallen Mammoth but before he could reach his opponent he met a new one in Gizmo. The boy genius came flying in from the side on the twin rotors coming out of his backpack. Gizmo fired a volley of small missiles in Cyborg's direction. Cyborg noticed a little early and managed to jump back in order to avoid being vaporized as the missiles hit the floor where he was standing.

The half-metal Titan was flung back and down into the floor. While Cyborg was recovering, Gizmo capitalized on the moment and hovered a short distance from Cyborg with his shoulder mounted laser cannons charging.

"End of the line for you, bucket-head!" said gizmo threateningly.

A growl from the side of the hovering boy-genius distracted him. Gizmo looked then squealed in fright when he saw a big green jaguar pounced right at him and tackled him to the ground. After Gizmo was knocked to the ground, enough so that his twin rotors received heavy damage and were rendered useless, the green jaguar jumped off and transformed back into the familiar elfin form of Beast Boy.

Beast Boy stood proudly. "Not on my watch, dude!"

To the side, Beast Boy saw out of the his peripheral vision that Mammoth was about to get back up after Cyborg's attack. He wouldn't give the HIVE student a chance if he could help it. Beast Boy transformed into a rhino and made ready to charge at Mammoth who was just starting to notice. But before Beast boy could charge, he became suddenly aware of a foreign weight that was on his back. Beast Boy tilted his head back to see and found Billy Numerous saddled up on his back.

"Howdy," he said.

In a heartbeat, Billy multiplied himself three dozen times all while staying on top of Beast Boy. The crushing weight brought the green rhino down onto the floor hard. Beast Boy was forced to go back to his elfin form. Once he sensed that Beast Boy was down for the count, Billy and all his clones jumped off and surrounded the short Titan. When he looked up, he found himself surrounded by three dozen grinning Billys, none of them looked friendly. Beast Boy nervously swallowed.

"Beast Boy, stay down!" exclaimed Starfire's familiar voice.

All the Billys looked up and saw Starfire hovering above them with brightly glowing green eyes and hands. Starfire aimed both her palms at the crowd of Billy Numerous clones and began some rapid-fire starbolt shooting to disorient and disperse the crowd around Beast Boy. Any starbolt that hit a Billy instantly knocked that Billy out and made the clone disappear while every other bolt that hit the floor caused the ruckus to continue. Eventually Starfire got lucky and nailed the real Billy Numerous. All the clones disappeared and Billy was on the floor, unconscious.

Beast Boy slowly got up and surveyed the scene. He looked up at Starfire and gave an appreciative smile. Starfire returned the gesture. But it was a short-lived celebration as Starfire was suddenly shot from the air by one of See-More's lasers. Starfire crashed into some crates and caused a mess. Beast Boy called out her name in concern and rushed to wards his friend to see if he could assist her. He got to her and helped her up.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel!" said See-More as he aimed at the two Titans and was about to fire.

When See-More let out another laser blast that shot towards Starfire and Beast Boy, a large black force field suddenly appeared in front of Beast Boy and Starfire and blocked the laser fire. See-More was slightly surprised as Raven hovered from above to join her comrades. The one-eyed HIVE Member suddenly found himself in a three-to-one disadvantage. But much to his relief, Kid Wykkyd and Mammoth appeared on either side of him. See-more smirked slightly in a flash of cockiness. The three Titans got ready. Simultaneously, both groups charged headlong towards each other.

Meanwhile…

Fallacy was throwing rapid attacks with her rope dart towards Robin who was defending himself with just his bo staff. The heavy drill-shaped dart at the end of the Kevlar reinforced rope. So far Robin had managed to block all of the attacks but he had to admit to himself that he wouldn't last long like this and he needed an alternate strategy. If only an opportunity would present itself.

Robin blocked a hit and as Fallacy was reeling back the rope, the boy wonder flipped backwards to get himself more distance from the girl. Robin landed in a crouch, retracted his bo staff, reached with both hands into his utility belt, and flung four birdarangs towards Fallacy.

The spellbinder pulled back her rope dart quickly and waited when the four projectiles were at the right distance. With expert timing and aim, Fallacy shot the rope dart at the four birdarangs in rapid succession using some fancy spinning and whipping maneuvers with her weapon. Robin was taken by surprise. Fallacy simply smiled back at him in a mocking nature as if to say "is that the best you have?"

Fallacy decided o pull out all her stops. Her eyes began to glow slightly and Robin immediately had a slight headache.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Robin opened his eyes.

He found himself in someplace very familiar. At first he couldn't believe it but then he realized he couldn't really deny it either no matter how much he forced himself to do so. He was back. He thought he had left it behind. He thought he went someplace else and left it all in the past. But that was no longer true. He was back in that city.

"Gotham…" he mumbled into the silent atmosphere.

He was in an alley somewhere. He was somewhat familiar with the alley he was in though in a place like Gotham City, you've seen one alley you've seen them all. But for Robin it was more likely he had seen them all. Slowly, Robin could already feel that sense of alertness flowing in his gut. He could feel that something was coming, something dark. He tried to control his breathing, keep it steady but he only found more and more air coming in and out of his lungs.

And then, _he_ finally came, dropping down form the shadows like a creature born of them. Robin felt compelled to think that that wasn't exactly inaccurate to think that he was born in the shadows. Be cause if he wasn't, he could very well be the shadows themselves. The creature stood up to its full height and absolutely imposed its presence on the narrow space of the alley.

Robin didn't have to second guess who it was.

"You disappoint me Robin," said the Batman in a deep growling voice.

Robin found that he couldn't think of a way to respond or even put words in his mouth.

"I taught you better than this. But you're still weak. You still need help every time. You can't do anything on your own. You are a failure Robin."

Robin was breathing heavier now. He found himself slowly backing away from the Batman. Even so, his silhouette in the dark only seemed to get bigger.

"How do you expect to go on like this?" continued the dark knight. "How far do you think you'll go before somebody comes and shoots you down from the sky?"

Robin only kept backing away.

It was then that Batman started walking towards his former sidekick. "How can you expect to be ever like me?"

At this, Robin stopped backing away. His eyes thinned and his lips parted to reveal his clamped teeth. The boy wonder stood straight and resolute. Suddenly all the intimidation from the giant bat seemed to have disappeared. Batman noticed this and stopped short on his approach to Robin, his white slits for eyes scanning the boy curiously.

"I…" said Robin. "I…never wanted…to be anything like you."

He said that with a resolve that couldn't be argued. For a while the two faced off and neither moved a muscle although it was clear that Robin had the more ground. Then Batman boved his arm ever so slightly that only someone like Robin with his sharp eye could pick up.

Suddenly, Robin found a batarang flying towards his head.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Suddenly, Robin found the rope dart flying towards his head.

But just as suddenly, Robin was not there to be hit. Fallacy was caught-off guard when Robin suddenly turned intangible and ghostly transparent allowing the rope dart to completely pass right through him and when she pulled it back. And if she was surprised, Robin was even more shocked when he looked down on himself and found not much to look at except his ghostly form. However both fighters saw past that shock and already had a suspicion.

A moment later, Robin turned solid again and Watcher appeared from behind the boy wonder. Watcher looked towards Robin who nodded back appreciatively. Robin figured that Fallacy's spell was broken the moment he turned him intangible, saving his head. Fallacy knew this by now as well and wore an irritated look on her face which Watcher took amusement in seeing. Watcher continued to walk forward towards Fallacy, ready for a fight.

"What is it that you are fighting for?" asked Fallacy out of the blue.

Robin seemed slightly surprised but Watcher was more or less still indifferent.

"The past, I suppose," answered Watcher to which Fallacy looked on curiously. "Never really had one to start with. Been spending my earliest years simply drifting from one day to the next. That is until some crazy old person came at me and told me I could do better…That ever happen to you?"

Fallacy stared for a moment before she couldn't help but smile. It was an understanding smile. She chuckled lightly to herself a bit a well. Small world after all, she thought.

After that her face turned serious again and got into a ready fighting stance. Her two opponents did the same. In the flash of a second, they charged at each other.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Deeper inside the facility.

Kole and Gnarrk had made fairly good progress and were otherwise not challenged along the way. The henchmen they have encountered so far had been little obstacle as there seem to have been something wrong that had the henchmen prioritizing escape rather than fight. The people inside the Facility are loosing coordination fast. Though Kole and Gnarrk were curious as to why this was happening, they were certainly not complaining.

As the two were running down a hall leading to somewhere they hop[ed would be productive, Kole seemed to have heard some voices and told Gnarrk to slow Down. Gnarrk complied and stopped right at the edge of the corner. Slowly the two peeked around the corner.

"Three bogeys at nine 'o clock," said Kole.

Gnarrk grunted softly in concurrence. Three white-suited henchmen, standing in the middle of the hallway, in front of a door, al of whom were to busy talking amongst themselves to have ever know about the two honorary Titans.

Kole and Gnarrk sank back into the corner and away from the henchmen's view. "I've got an idea," said Kole. She then whispered something into Gnarrk's ear and the Cro-Magnon man smiled approvingly.

Kole then stood on Gnarrk's shoulders and bent her body at the waist. Then she crystallized her body in that angle. Gnarrk grabbed her lags and held her out like a boomerang. He reared his form that threw Kole's crystal body out of the corner. Kole went flying through the air and straight towards the three henchmen who never noticed until the last millisecond.

Kole de-crystallized and landed gracefully on the floor. "Piece of cake, even if I do say so myself."

Gnarrk walked up to her and they both stood in front of the door in the middle of the hall. Kole spotted a switch on the wall. She stood in front of the switch and pressed it which caused the door beside her to slide open. Gnarrk was directly in front of the door when it opened so he was the first to see the inside of the room. One look and the caveman cringed. It was also fortunate that he was blocking Kole's view.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Kole. "What's in there?"

She started moving towards the doorway. Gnarrk was quick in stopping her and gently pushing her back. He grunted incoherently while he made gestures with his hands telling Kole to stay back. Kole looked curiously at her friend for a moment before nodding then backing-off a bit more. Gnarrk nodded approvingly and went inside alone.

It was pretty clear why the caveman had not wanted her to come in. Superhero or not, Kole was still a little girl and he didn't want her seeing a corpse which was exactly what was on the floor of the room. Gnarrk recognized the corpse. It was the man he remembered from that terrible place long ago. The man who had the machine that turned him and several others around him into frozen statues.

Gnarrk kneeled down in front of the corpse and inspected thoroughly. He grabbed a lifeless arm, pulled it up, and let it drop. He felt the man with his hand. The body was cold and he felt no pulse or breathing. No need to deny the hard facts. This guy was a definite goner. Gnarrk identified the cause of death easily. The wound at the back of the man's head was still bleeding slightly.

He shook his head solemnly. Bad as Chang was, even he deserved a little better than to go out like this. Gnarrk had to ignore it and concentrate on his work. He looked around the room for the second thing that caught his eye: the metal container on the desk. He took it and examined it slightly, twirling the thing around in his hands. He eventually, and accidentally, found a switch that unlocked the outer casing. Gnarrk, reacting out of his technophobia, drew the container away. He looked back at it and noticed that the inner glass container had popped out.

He carefully pulled out the glass container and revealed the glowing orb inside the thing. Jackpot! Gnarrk knew that this was what they were looking for and he grinned proudly. He pushed the glass container back into its metal shell and prepared to leave the room. But as he was turning away from the desk, a third thing caught his eye and he looked back. It was the laptop computer.

He went back to the desk and took a closer look. Then his eyes went wide as dinner plates.

Outside the room, Kole was waiting patiently for her friend to come out but she was getting a bit worried now. There was something not right about the situation and she had this feeling that they shouldn't be staying in one place for too long. Kole was caught a bit off-guard when Gnarrk cam bursting out of the room carrying the metal container in one hand and holding up the laptop on the other. The caveman started grunting incoherently and too fast for Kole to understand.

"Whoa! Slow down there, buddy!" she beckoned her friend. "What's wrong?"

Gnarrk brought the laptop down to her so that she could get a closer look at the screen. Kole took a moment to let what she was seeing sink in.

_SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED._

_0__4__:35…0__4:34…04:33…04:32…04:31…04__:30…_

Kole's eyes went wide. "Oh no…"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Back in warehouse A

The Titans and the rest of the HIVE Five were going all out at each other iside the confining spaces of the warehouse. The HIVE were showing amazing fighting spirits, unusual for them by the usual standards, that more than made them a match for the Titans. Even so, the Titans held their own, no strangers to bad situations getting worse. They stayed vigilant for they knew that the tables could turn at any moment if The HIVE were simply able to play their trump card, Fallacy. Fortunately for the meantime, she was busy on another side of the warehouse which gave the Titans a limited amount of breathing room.

Watcher was busying himself with dodging most of Fallacy's rope dart attacks. Those that he could not directly evade were simply dealt with by turning his body intangible like always. Fallacy was getting aggravated by then and watcher knew this. This was the task he assigned himself after he rescued Robin from a gruesome fate.

He was the only one in the room who was able to neglect Fallacy's spellbinding move. He couldn't let her affect any of the other Titans otherwise the fight might go downhill for them. He had to keep her focused on him and keep the odds fair. That was the essence of teamwork.

Fallacy was not as stupid as to not notice this tactic, of course. She knew that she could somehow tip the tables towards the HIVE if only she could get to one of the other titans. Watcher was being too much of a pest though and she was having a hard time. This guy was a far more formidable adversary than she originally gave him credit for.

She tried a different approach then. "You know you can not hope to keep at this pace," she said. "Any moment now I'll find my way around your persistence!"

Watcher knew she was bluffing for the most part of what she said. He knew they could both go at this pace all day and all of tomorrow if they had to. She was trying to rattle his nerves, that's all. He won't fall for it. He kept his guard up. He watched for any other change in her mood that would indicate that she would try something else.

"What do you expect to happen if you succeed?" she continued. "Are you simply going to hide your prize away on some shelf of some gallery where none can ever touch it? Do you think you'll keep the world safe in that manner?"

"No, of course not," said Watcher. "First I'll get some nice wrapping paper, pack it up, put a nice ribbon on top, and send it to you guys for Christmas."

Watcher suddenly went on the offensive and charged in in his ghostly form. Fallacy's attempted counter-attacks were more than useless as he completely passed her body and solidified right behind her. He delivered a swift sweeping kick that tripped Fallacy and sent her crashing on her butt. Watcher made a grab for her rope dart as it was suddenly free in the air. Using his powers, he turned the whole length of the weapon intangible and freed it from Fallacy's hands.

Fallacy quickly flipped herself back up and noticed that her hands were bare of her rope dart and she soon found it in Watcher's hands, still intangible. Watcher then smiled back at her. He turned the whole of his arms intangible along with the rope dart and phased them through the floor. Watcher then pulled his hands back up with the rope dart now gone from them. He returned his arms to their solid form.

"You're gonna have to come up with something better than that, lady," said Watcher. "That trick 's getting old."

Fallacy shot back a frustrated glare. Watcher took some satisfaction from that but still kept his guard up. This was far from over.

"Anything else you got up your sleeve?" he provoked.

"How 'bout this?!" exclaimed Mammoth from behind him.

Watcher could not react in time and as he turned he was nailed by Mammoth's massive fist which sent him flying towards one of the piles of wooden crates. He crashed loudly and the wood piled on top of him. He struggled to get back up from the crash but he found that rather hard. In his chest he could feel a few bruised ribs, one or two might even be cracked, he couldn't tell for sure.

As he crawled out of the pile and struggled back up to his feet, Watcher's eyes ere groggy and he couldn't make out any image in front of him. Fallacy capitalized on this moment of weakness, reached into her boot and produced a very sharp-looking straight razor. It was the most opportune time she was going to get, take him now while he was still solid, she told herself. She charged in with the razor aimed at Watcher's jugular.

That was when Robin made his move. From the side, the boy wonder pitched a round disk towards Fallacy. Mid-way through its trip, the disk expanded into a bola. The bola wrapped around Fallacy's body and bound her arms stopping her from making a fatal slash at Watcher. The force of the throw also pulled Fallacy along with the bola a good distance from Watcher.

Robin ran up next to Watcher. "You okay?"

Watcher shook out the last of the dizziness from his head. "I'm fine. Guess this makes us even now."

Robin smirked lightly. Soon the rest of The Titans stood around Watcher in a loose formation. Similarly, the rest of the HIVE also seemed to gather around Fallacy as she cut herself free from the ropes with her straight razor and pulling herself back up onto her feet. The two teams stared down at each other but were otherwise unaffected by the other. After only a short moment both sides were already gearing up for another round when suddenly the doors on one side of the warehouse suddenly burst open.

All twelve of the teens looked in the direction of the doors and spotted Kole and Gnarrk. Kole was riding Gnarrk's while holding a laptop computer while Gnarrk had his hands full with the three unconscious guards that they had knocked out some time ago and the metal container containing the prize of the day. Gnarrk was especially short for breath while Kole was frantically waving her free hand to call the group's attention.

"Kole? Gnarrk?" called Robin. "What's going on?"

"Guys!" exclaimed Kole. "We have a problem!"

Kole raised the laptop for everyone to see. The screen was visible to all and the display was easy enough to read. The displays meaning was not al that hard to interpret either and as soon as realization clicked, all twelve of the Titans and the HIVE combined had eyes as wide as dinner plates.

_SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED._

_0__1__:02…0__1:01…01__:00…0__0__:59…__00__:58…0__0__:56…_

Fallacy turned her head towards Gizmo who was hovering in the air to her right. "My little friend, I believe now is the time for the contingency plan."

"No kidding!" exclaimed Gizmo back. The little genius reached behind him and produced a small hockey puck-looking object. He threw it onto the floor in the middle of the two groups. This caught the attention of Watcher and turned to see Fallacy giving him one last glare. A second later, the puck exploded in a bright, blinding flash of light that lasted only a few second. By the time Watcher, along with everyone else, regained their sight, the HIVE was gone.

"Dude! They bailed on us!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Robin took a look back at the laptop screen. Less than forty seconds left. "I think they did a wise thing. Everyone, outside, now!"

No one needed to be told a second time.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Outside.

Silicis saw them come out through the front entrance. She watched as they all dashed into the snow trying to get away from the Facility as fast as they can. Fallacy could only lower he brow in curiosity as she continued to watche them from a hidden spot halfway up the ravine wall.

"What's their hurry?" she asked.

Two seconds after she said that, a shockwave that knocked her off her feet pulsed through the ground coupled by a deep rumbling noise. A second later, Silicis saw the bunker entrance and almost half the mountain on top of it, explode into a cloud of fire and debris. Silicis got back up on her feet in time to see a massive fireball float up into the sky leaving behind a thick pillar of smoke.

The shockwave from the initial blast had already subsided but up to then Silicis could still feel some rumbling in the ground. She then realized it was the interior of the bunker crumbling and collapsing in on itself. She turned to see that all of the Titans and Watcher were safe, gathered near their vehicles. Then she looked back up at the rising plume of smoke then back down at the burning remains of the bunker.

"Always gotta end with a bang, huh?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Two hours later.

The National Guard arrived only half-an-hour after the Titans contacted them. They spent the rest of the time cuffing the various henchmen who had evacuated the facility earlier on. This being an island that wasn't that hard an accomplishment. The Ravin was now swarming with National Guard helicopters and their officers doing the clean up. The HIVE however were never found that day.

In the middle of it all, Watcher and the rest of the Titans wee gathered under the T-ship. "So, it's 'mission accomplished' huh?" asked Beast Boy.

"Pretty much," replied Watcher. "We stopped the bag guy, got the prize, saved the world. All in a days work, right?"

"So, what now?" asked Robin.

"I take the orb back to my place. We'll know what to do with it. Is that cool with you guys?"

"I trust you'll do what needs to be done. I can't ask for anything more than that. As for us, we'll stick around here for a while and do some digging of our own. Chang was our jurisdiction, and we want to find out, if we can, who killed him and why."

"Rest assured, we'll be doing the same thing."

"Watcher, does your organization have any enemies that could be involved in this?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. We've made enemies in the past. This wouldn't be a first if someone else was involved. Question is 'who?' though…But you have my word that if anything comes up you guys will be the first to know."

"I'll hold you to that." Robin extended a hand. Watcher gladly shook it.

"'Till next time…"

"Next time."

Watcher and Robin stopped shaking hands. Watcher then turned to the rest of the Titans and gave them a farewell nod. They all returned it and exchanged some pleasant farewells too. After all has been said and done, wtahcer took the metal container and started to walk away from the scene. The Titans watched him off until he disappeared into the mountains.

"So now what?" asked Raven towards Robin.

"He and whoever he's working with have done their job. Now we should continue to do ours."

"Which is?"

"Save the world of course."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Later, somewhere along the mountain range.

"Had fun?" asked Silicis with an insincere look of questioning.

"As a matter of fact," replied Watcher. He raised the metal container so that she could see. "We got what we came for."

"I know. I already contacted the Master so she knows that the mission is successful. She's already called in team_ Logos_ to Greenland. I'll meet them there while you take that back home."

"Those official orders, huh?"

"Of course."

Watcher didn't reply for a while. Silicis noticed and turned her sights towards his face. He was giving her a rather inquisitive look. "What's the matter?"

"You had no reason to hid from them you know?"

Silicis let out a sigh of exasperation. "I wasn't ready to face them yet. I just…"

"You're not _her_, Sil."

"So everyone keeps telling me."

"Yet you never listen."

She let out another sigh and an awkward silence fell on the two for a while. Watcher searched for her emotions but couldn't read anything particular.

"How is _she_ by the way?" Silicis asked out of the blue.

Watcher looked as if he was expecting this question. "She's doing well. Second in her class, even has a boyfriend…You'd like him."

Silicis looked at him inquiringly but reverted to her normal expression. "That's good."

Watcher gave an approving nod and then started to move. "Let's go then. There's still plenty to do…"

Silicis followed him and soon they were both gone from the island.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Somewhere along the shoreline.

From a small cave near the beach, a speedboat emerged carrying in it two passengers. One was a woman in black military fatigues and was talking on a cell phone. The other was a sharply dress man at the driver's seat. The boat ran silent and made little noise as it headed out into the ocean. As it sped off into the distance, neither of the two passengers in it could tell they were being watched.

From a hidden spot on the shore, Fallacy watched the boat as it disappeared into the horizon. Behind her, the other HIVE members were also watching the boat as it vanished into the distance. Gizmo was looking down on a mini-computer he had and made sure that the tracer of the boat they had placed earlier was transmitting properly. It was.

"Far from over…" said Fallacy.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Author's Note: I'm finally done with this story! But like she said, it's far from over. Pls. R&R this one long train wreck of a fic and look out for my next disasterpiece. And read the epilogue too.

Peace Out!


	21. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

He took out his PDA, dialed a number, and waited for the recipient to answer. She did after two rings.

"Silicis here," she said. "What is it?"

"Sil, we might have a problem."

"Can you expound on that?"

"I got the orb back as planned and we ran tests on it as usual and we found something that we don't like. The orb was a fake."

"What?"

"The orb is man-made technology. By the time I got it here, it had lost half its energy."

"…I see."

"You don't sound all that surprised."

"If you had called me about three hours earlier, I might have sounded surprised."

"…You found something strange too?"

"Team Logos have done all the digging they could and so far everything we've seen so far have pointed to the same thing. From what we found we were already expecting the orb to be fake. Watcher, we weren't the fist ones here, nor was Chang, or that expedition that discovered this place in the late eighties. Someone found this place first and replaced the orb."

"Can't you find evidence of where the real orb might be?"

"If we could we would've done that already. No, the only thing we can determine for sure was when the orb was replaced. And even that…well…"

"When was the orb replaced?"

"You sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"Well…about a hundred and forty years ago."

"…What the…?"

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()


End file.
